[An Exploration of Working Conditions and Flexible System for Hospital Nurses]

The lack of sufficient numbers of professional nurses in the healthcare system in Taiwan is an issue that affects the sustainability of this system and that relates closely to working conditions.

The present study explores the expectations that nurses hold with regard to working conditions and the operation of a flexible system in hospitals.

A literature review and focus-group interviews were used to develop the questionnaire Working Conditions and Flexible System. A total of 1,150 copies of this questionnaire were distributed to practicing nurses using stratified random sampling, with 1,146 valid copies returned for a valid recovery rate of 99.65%.

The results show that the expectations of participants concerning working conditions and a flexible system focus on the 6 factors of task, numerical, divisional, temporal, wages, and leading flexibility. The total mean was 4.35 (SD=0.42). The means for the 6 types of flexibility were all greater than 4.0. Participants deemed flexibility to be of high importance. The demographic variables hospital, work location, age, education level, work position, work unit, and total work years all affected the 6 types of flexibility significantly.

The present study supports that the retention of nurses is significantly associated with working conditions and the operation of a flexible system. Administrators and mangers must create positive working conditions and a flexible system in order to enhance the retention and career development of nurses.