Registered Nurse Job Satisfaction and Collective Bargaining Unit Membership Status

Abstract

To examine differences in job satisfaction levels between registered nurses who were or were not members of a nursing collective bargaining unit. The nursing shortage could lead to decreased quality of patient care, heavier workloads, and mandatory overtime, resulting in decreased job satisfaction and increased intent to leave. Nursing collective bargaining units use contracts to help decrease patient workload, decrease and eliminate mandatory overtime, increase pay and benefits, and increase job security. Exploring differences in job satisfaction between nurses who are and are not members of collective bargaining units is pertinent to understanding the retention and recruitment of nurses. A descriptive secondary analysis using a survey database from the Minnesota Department of Health. The survey, which included a job satisfaction section largely based on the Index of Work Satisfaction, was sent in 2002 to 3,645 registered nurses in Minnesota. Members of collective bargaining units had higher satisfaction with wages. Nonmembers had higher satisfaction with nursing supervision, patient care, work setting, professional relationships, and overall job satisfaction. There is a need for interventions in institutions with collective bargaining units to improve job satisfaction, nurse retention, and job recruitment.