Aim: This paper is a report of a study exploring nurses' views and experience regarding their working lives in Mainland China.
Background: The widespread nursing shortage and high turnover has become a global issue. Job satisfaction among nurses is a key factor in nurse turnover. Although several models of job satisfaction have been suggested in Western countries, these require further development and testing in Mainland China, where the social context of the labour market is different.
Method: A survey design using questionnaires was adopted. A total of 512 hospital nurses in Beijing participated in the study in 2004, representing a response rate of 81%.
Findings: There was a negative relationship between nurses' job satisfaction and intention to leave their current hospitals, which was mediated by age (P < 0.05). About 40% of the variance in job satisfaction could be explained by the set of independent variables including organizational commitment, occupational stress, professional commitment, role conflict, role ambiguity, educational level, age and working years (R2 = 0.396). Organizational commitment had the strongest impact on job satisfaction, which explained 31.3% of the variance in this, followed by occupational stress and role conflict (5.5% and 1.9% respectively). In addition, both nurses' role perception and actual role content influenced job satisfaction as well as occupational stress, role conflict and role ambiguity (P < 0.05). Nurses' educational level was also a factor related to role perception, professional commitment and role conflict (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Nurses' job satisfaction could be increased through promoting organizational and professional commitment and reducing occupational stress, role conflict and role ambiguity.