4 research outputs found
Organizational configuration of hospitals succeeding in attracting and retaining nurses
Organizational configuration of hospitals succeeding in attracting and retaining nurses. This paper contrasts structural and managerial characteristics of low- and
high-turnover hospitals, and describes the organizational configuration of attractive
hospitals. In countries facing nurse shortages and turnover, some hospitals
succeed in recruiting and retaining nurses. In Magnet Hospitals, managerial practices
and environmental characteristics increase nurses\u2019 job satisfaction and their
commitment to the organization, which in turn decreases nurse turnover. Such an
approach suggests that organizations are best understood as clusters of interconnected
structures and practices, i.e. organizational configurations rather than entities whose components can be understood in isolation.
From a sample of 12 hospitals whose nurse turnover was studied for 1 year,
structural and organizational features of hospitals in the first and fourth quartiles, i.e. attractive (turnover11\uc68%) were contrasted. A questionnaire, including perceptions of health-related factors, job demands, stressors, work schedules, organizational climate, and work adjustments antecedent to turnover, was received from 401 nurses working in attractive hospitals (response rate - 53\uc68%) and 774 nurses in conventional hospitals (response rate \ubc 54\uc65%).
Structural characteristics did not differentiate attractive and conventional
hospitals, but employee perceptions towards the organization differed strikingly.
Differences were observed for risk exposure, emotional demands, role ambiguity and
conflicts, work-family conflicts, effort-reward imbalance and the meaning of work, all
in favour of attractive hospitals (P < 0.01). Relationships with nursing management,
work ability and satisfaction with working time, handover shifts and schedules
were also better in attractive hospitals (P < 0.001). Job satisfaction and commitment
were higher in attractive hospitals, whereas burnout and intention to leave were lower
(P < 0.001).
Organizational characteristics are key factors in nurse attraction
and retention. Nurses face difficulties in their work situations, but some hospitals are
perceived as healthy organizations. The concept of attractive institutions could serve as a catalyst for improvement in nurses\u2019 work environments in Europe