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

Previous research indicates that nurses' job dissatisfaction relates to their work organization and environment; rarely has the contribution of employer provided support services been examined while controlling for the influence of other factors.

The objective of this study was to examine job dissatisfaction among Canadian registered nurses in relation to employer-provided programs for child care and fitness or recreation.

Data are from 2,993 respondents to the 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses, weighted to represent Canada's 91,600 registered nurses in full-time, permanent positions who deliver direct care in hospitals or long-term care facilities. Multivariate modeling was used to examine job dissatisfaction in relation to employer-provided support programs, controlling for personal characteristics and variables reflecting work organization and the work environment.

Employer-provided child care assistance programs were available to 16% of nurses, and fitness or recreation programs were available to 38%. An estimated 13% of nurses were dissatisfied with their jobs. Even when controlling for personal characteristics, overtime, shift work, shift length, weekly hours, overload, staffing inadequacy, autonomy, nurse-physician relations, and coworker respect, inverse associations with job dissatisfaction emerged for employer-supported child care (odds ratio = 0.49, 95% confidence interval = 0.27-0.88) and fitness programs (odds ratio = 0.65, 95% confidence interval = 0.42-0.99).

This study provides new information suggesting that employer-provided support programs are protective against nurses' job dissatisfaction. This is a key finding in view of nursing shortages and the importance of job satisfaction to retention.