Healthcare restructuring: the impact of job change

Restructuring, particularly redeployment and job change, had a dramatic impact on the working conditions and practices of nursing personnel. This study was conducted to determine whether nurses (RNs and RPNs) who experienced job change perceived their work-lives differently than those who did not undergo job change and, whether nurses who experienced different types of job change (new role, new unit, or new hospital) varied in their perceptions. A questionnaire exploring themes relevant to redeployment was administered to all nurses (N = 3,408) in two large teaching hospitals that had undergone restructuring. The response rate was 50.7% (n = 1,728). Of the responses, 1,662 were used in the analysis. T-tests and ANOVAs were used to compare groups of nurses. Nurses who changed their jobs perceived their commitment to the organization, their work environment and quality of care differently than those who did not change jobs. Nurses with different types of job change differed in their organizational commitment, perceptions of work-related injuries, attitudes towards job change, need for orientation and new knowledge, and feelings about the health care team. Results will assist managers to address the specific needs of nurses with different experiences of job change in the restructured workplace.