The Effect of the Work and Physical Environment on Hospital Nurses' Perceptions and Attitudes: Service Quality and Commitment

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of the physical and work environments of a hospital on nurses' perceptions of and attitudes toward the hospital. Using a unique dataset resulting from a quasi-experiment in which the hospital under study added a new wing to its existing facility, the authors add to the literature by empirically analyzing how physical and work environment factors influence the nurses' perceptions on two key outcome measures: service quality provided by the hospital and the nurses' commitment to the hospital. For the physical environment, they focus on quality of patient areas, safety, and quality of work space. For the work environment, they evaluate supervisor support, communication openness, and teamwork. Analyses of the responses of the nurses prior to and following occupancy of the new facility reveal intriguing findings. The results of the authors' study show that both physical (quality of patient areas, safety, and quality of work spaces) and work environment (supervisor support and communication openness) variables positively affect nurses' perceptions of service quality and commitment. Further, as expected, the effect is more pronounced (positive) for those nurses who moved to the new facility compared to those who continued to work in the existing facility. Based on the authors' results, they offer implications for hospital managers.