Nurse Job Satisfaction: Is a Revised Conceptual Framework Needed?

Background and Objectives: Job satisfaction is a critical factor in attracting and retaining nurses. Although many studies have dealt with nurses’ job satisfaction, rapid transformation of the community and health systems can alter the factors influencing this issue, hence calling for continuous monitoring of job satisfaction as perceived by nurses. Built on this necessity, the present study was conducted to identify factors contributing to job satisfaction of the nurses in an Iranian health system context. Method: A cross-sectional survey among 530 nurses was conducted in Shariati teaching hospital in Tehran. Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to measure job satisfaction. T-test was used to compare job satisfaction between nurse groups of different age and work experience. Chi-square test was used to compare nurse groups of different sex, level of education and job status. Correlation of job satisfaction in nurses with their age, gender, work experience, job status, and level of education was examined using logistic regression analysis. Findings: A total of 424 nurses completed the questionnaires (response rate = 80%). Of the total respondents, 47.9% expressed satisfaction with their job. The highest satisfaction score was related to moral values (87.9%) followed by social services (76.1%). The lowest satisfaction score was obtained by compensations (91.8%) followed by professional advancement (84.1%). No significant difference in job satisfaction was found between demographic groups. In addition, no correlation was identified between job satisfaction in nurses and their age, gender, work experience, job status, and level of education. Our study also descriptively showed that nurses were mostly satisfied with intrinsic factors of their jobs when compared with the corresponding extrinsic factors. Conclusions: From a descriptive point of view, improving payments and offering opportunities for advancement are the prioritized factors in improving job satisfaction among the nurses. Lack of relationship between job satisfaction and conventional demographic and professional variables would indicate the changing nature of factors affecting job satisfaction among nurses, calling for further theoretical and empirical studies.