Employer-provided support services and job dissatisfaction in Canadian registered nurses

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Occupational Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Nurses' job dissatisfaction is linked to work organization and environment.
• Employer support services' impact on job satisfaction is understudied.
• Previous research rarely controlled for multiple influencing factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate job dissatisfaction in Canadian registered nurses (RNs).
• To examine the relationship between employer-provided child care and fitness programs and RN job dissatisfaction.
• To control for personal, organizational, and environmental factors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 2,993 respondents to the 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses.
• Weighted data to represent 91,600 full-time, permanent, direct-care RNs in Canadian hospitals and long-term care facilities.
• Employed multivariate modeling to assess job dissatisfaction in relation to employer support programs, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• Employer-provided child care was available to 16% and fitness programs to 38% of surveyed RNs.
• Job dissatisfaction was reported by an estimated 13% of RNs.
• Employer-supported child care (OR=0.49) and fitness programs (OR=0.65) showed significant inverse associations with job dissatisfaction, even after controlling for numerous personal and work-related factors.

Conclusions:

• Employer-provided support programs, specifically for child care and fitness, appear protective against nurses' job dissatisfaction.
• These findings are critical given current nursing shortages and the importance of job satisfaction for nurse retention.
• Investing in employer-supported services may be a viable strategy to improve RN job satisfaction and retention.