Explaining nurses’ work behaviour from their perception of the environment and work values

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Abstract

The present study examined how the relationship between nurses’ perception of their environment and their work values could explain their job performance and whether they intended to quit their jobs. A survey (N=346) and a focus group (N=6) were used to collect data. The results revealed that nurses’ job performance was maintained in an environment where they received few professional incentives due to their professionalism. In contrast, negative environmental characteristics directly impacted on nurses’ intention to quit their jobs. The present study provides new insights into nurses’ work behaviour.

Introduction

Many studies have been conducted into understanding nurses’ work behaviour including job performance and intention to quit their jobs. Identifying what motivates nurses to perform better and stay in their jobs is important, as poor performance and the current nursing shortage affect quality patient care. Various ways have been used to identity the factors that contribute to nurses’ work behaviour. These ways can be classified into two approaches.

One approach is to investigate nurses’ perception of their environmental characteristics, such as the degree of autonomy and recognition provided to nurses, and to examine its linear relationship with their work behaviour. Researchers have explored how nurses perceive organisational structure including formal and informal forms of power, and how this structure can affect their work motivation. The findings have shown that perceived level of autonomy, access to resources and information, and support from colleagues were positively associated with work effectiveness (Laschinger and Havens, 1996; Beaulieu et al., 1997) and job-related empowerment of nurses (Sabiston and Laschinger, 1995). A perceived lack of autonomy, few rewards for job performance and limited supervisor support were also identified as predictors of nurses’ disengagement from their jobs (Demerouti et al., 2000).

Another approach is to explore nurses’ work values. Work values refer to desired outcomes such as having autonomy and receiving recognition and fair pay, which employees like to or ought to be able to achieve through their work (Nord et al., 1990). These work values were examined as alternative variables that explain nurses’ work behaviour. An example includes a study by Mills and Blaesing (2000), who investigated nurses’ work values such as values for their professional status, patient care and pride in their profession. They found that these values were positively related to their career satisfaction (i.e., whether they would choose their profession again or recommend others to choose the nursing profession).

While these groups of studies (Sabiston and Laschinger, 1995; Laschinger and Havens, 1996; Beaulieu et al., 1997; Mills and Blaesing, 2000) could inform the reasons behind nurses’ attitudes toward their work, studying nurses’ perceptions of their environment separately from their work values makes it difficult to determine how nurses interpret their environmental characteristics in the context of their needs, and how their interpretation may affect their behaviour. To overcome this difficulty, there has been an increased trend to test the effect of the relationship between employees’ work values and the environmental characteristics on their work behaviour in the fields of psychology and organisational studies (e.g., Edwards, 1996; Taris and Feji, 2001). However, few nursing studies have examined such an effect. Therefore, whether nurses’ work behaviour is better explained by the relationship between nurses’ needs and their perception of the environmental characteristics, or by the independent effects of nurses’ professional and the environmental factors is relatively unknown. The purpose of the present study was to examine if the relationship between nurses’ perception of their environment and their work values can predict job performance and intention to quit better than these factors individually. The study also aimed to develop appropriate models to explain nurses’ work behaviour.

Section snippets

Theoretical framework

The person–environment fit theory was used to investigate the relationship between nurses’ work values, their perception of environmental characteristics and their work behaviour. The person–environment fit refers to a perceived compatibility or correspondence between employees’ occupational needs and the characteristics of the environment (i.e., the organisation) (Dawis and Lofquist, 1984; Mitchell et al., 2001). The person–environment fit theory maintains that when employees perceive a fit

Study design

Two types of study designs were used to explore the factors, which explained nurses’ job performance and intention to quit their jobs. First, a correlational survey design was used to test whether the relationship between nurses’ work values and their perception of the environment could explain their job performance and intention to quit their jobs beyond the individual effects of nurses’ work values and the environmental characteristics. Second, an exploratory qualitative design using a focus

Results and discussion

A total of 346 questionnaires were returned, which accounted for a response rate of 37%. The majority of participants were female (93%) and working as staff clinical staff nurses (90%). More than half the participants were currently studying or had already completed a postgraduate course (68%). Of those who had not started a postgraduate course, 64% had a degree. Approximately 60% of the participants were working more than 35 h/week. The participants were from medical/surgical wards (28%), the

Limitations

One limitation of the study is the generalisability of the findings. This is due to the limited sample representation, which is the result of a low response rate and the heterogeneity of the sample's characteristics compared to the Australian nursing population. Another limitation arises in the results of the nurses’ job performance. This is because the nurses’ job performance was rated by the participants, whose self-evaluation may be different from that of others such as their unit managers.

Conclusion

The person–environment fit theory was not supported in this study. However, the results of this study demonstrated that nurses’ job performance is better explained by a curvilinear relationship with their perception of the environmental characteristics. If only a linear model had been used in this study, nurses’ effort to maintain or improve their job performance would not have been identified. By utilising a curvilinear model, this study provided a new way of investigating nurses’ work

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank The University of Melbourne for providing a Melbourne Research Scholarship to support the conduct of this study. The authors would also like to thank Associate Professor Ian Gordon from the Statistical Consulting Centre at The University of Melbourne and the distinguished Professor of Management Jeffrey R. Edwards from the University of North Carolina for their statistical advice. However, responsibility for how their advice was used in this paper rests with the

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