Frustrated wants and entitlements: fundamental components of CRNA job satisfaction

A comparative study was conducted examining CRNA feelings of deprivation or resentment as they relate to their job satisfaction. Deprivation is described in Faye Crosby's Theory of Relative Deprivation (1976), which posits that six psychological preconditions (wanting, comparison other, deserving, past expectations, future expectations, and lack of self-blame) have an impact on individual perceptions and can influence job satisfaction. Relative deprivation is defined as a sense of grievance or feeling of resentment that one has been unjustly deprived of some desired thing. It is also sometimes referred to as the discrepancy between one's legitimate expectations and one's actual situation. The three hypotheses examined compare the influence of the six Crosby preconditions of relative deprivation and the three background variables of gender, education, and individual job autonomy on CRNA-felt deprivation. Results from three-way analysis of variance indicated that of the three background variables, only degree of autonomy was found to be significant in explaining felt deprivation. That is, irrespective of gender or educational level, CRNAs reporting higher degrees of job autonomy had lower feelings of deprivation or resentment about their jobs than did individuals reporting limited job autonomy. Degree of autonomy, thus being the key background determinant of CRNA-felt deprivation (F = 14.609, P < .01). Further analysis employing multiple regression revealed that when both the background and the Crosby psychological variables were examined together, the explained variance in deprivation was dramatically increased by the psychological variables far in excess of the background variables. The two psychological variables of wanting and deserving were found as most significant in explaining CRNA felt deprivation. Results indicate the importance of CRNA frustrated wants (wanting) and CRNA perceived entitlements (deserving) as key factors contributing to CRNA job satisfaction above and beyond the three background variables studied.