Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2806
Authors: Michael Shields; Melanie Ward
Abstract: In recent years the British National Health Service (NHS) has experienced an acute shortage of qualified nurses. This has placed issues of recruitment and retention in the profession high on the political agenda. In this Paper, we investigate the determinants of job satisfaction for nurses and establish the importance of job satisfaction in determining nurses? intentions to quit the NHS. We find that nurses who report overall dissatisfaction with their jobs have a 65% higher probability of intending to quit than those reporting to be satisfied. However, dissatisfaction with promotion and training opportunities are found to have a stronger impact than workload or pay. Recent policies, which focus heavily on improving the pay of all NHS nurses, will have only limited success unless they are accompanied by improved promotion and training opportunities. Better retention will, in turn, lead to reduced workload.
Keywords: Job Satisfaction; Nurses; Principal Component Analysis; Quitting Intentions
JEL Codes: I18; J45; J63
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Pay Improvements + Promotion/Training Opportunities (J62) | Job Satisfaction (J28) |
| External Job Market Opportunities (J68) | Quitting Intentions (J63) |
| Job Satisfaction (J28) | Quitting Intentions (J63) |
| Dissatisfaction with Career Advancement Opportunities (J62) | Quitting Intentions (J63) |
| Job Satisfaction (J28) | Nurse Turnover (J63) |
| Job Satisfaction (J28) | Cost Savings for NHS (H51) |