Association between intention to stay on the job and job satisfaction among Japanese nurses in small and medium-sized private hospitals.

In order to examine the relationship between the intention to stay on the job and job satisfaction among Japanese nurses, and to obtain clues for preventing turnover, we conducted a questionnaire survey. The subjects involved in the survey included 625 female nurses (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and assistant nurses) working in 4 small and medium-sized private hospitals, excluding directors of nursing. Of the 625 questionnaires distributed, 556 (89.0%) were returned. After excluding the questionnaires with missing values, 480 questionnaires were analyzed (effective response rate, 76.8%). The average age of the respondents was 32.8 yr (range: 20-65). The content of the questionnaire was nurse attributes, job satisfaction (30 items) and intention to stay on the job. For job satisfaction, factor analysis (principal factor method and promax rotation) was performed, and factors with an eigenvalue of > or =1 were extracted. Six factors were extracted by factor analysis. These factors were interpreted as "Work as specialists" (1st factor), "Relationship with superiors" (2nd factor), "Comfortable life" (3rd factor), "Relationship among nurses" (4th factor), "Communication with physicians" (5th factor) and "Working conditions" (6th factor). The factor scores were calculated and used as a scale for the evaluation of job satisfaction. To investigate the factors associated with intention to stay on the job among nurses, the standard partial regression coefficient was computed by multiple linear regression analysis, with intention to stay on the job as the dependent variable, and nurse attributes and job satisfaction (factor scores) as independent variables. Various factors including the organizational culture of each hospital may affect the relationship between job satisfaction and the intention to stay on the job. In order to adjust for these factors, differences among hospitals were included in the statistical model as independent variables. The result of the multiple regression analysis suggests that the intention to stay on the job was higher among nurses who were older and more satisfied with work as specialists (1st factor) and working conditions (6th factor).