Abstract
BackgroundLiterature reports a direct relation between nurses’ job satisfaction and their job retention (stickiness). The proper planning and management of the nursing labor market necessitates the understanding of job satisfaction and retention trends. The objectives of the study are to identify trends in, and the interrelation between, the job satisfaction and job stickiness of German nurses in the 1990–2013 period using a flexible specification for job satisfaction that includes different time periods and to also identify the main determinants of nurse job stickiness in Germany and test whether these determinants have changed over the last two decades.MethodsThe development of job stickiness in Germany is depicted by a subset of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1990–2013), with each survey respondent assigned a unique identifier used to calculate the year-to-year transition probability of remaining in the current position. The changing association between job satisfaction and job stickiness is measured using job satisfaction data and multivariate regressions assessing whether certain job stickiness determinants have changed over the study period.ResultsBetween 1990 and 2013, the job stickiness of German nurses increased from 83 to 91%, while their job satisfaction underwent a steady and gradual decline, dropping by 7.5%. We attribute this paradoxical result to the changing association between job satisfaction and job stickiness; that is, for a given level of job (dis)satisfaction, nurses show a higher stickiness rate in more recent years than in the past, which might be partially explained by the rise in part-time employment during this period. The main determinants of stickiness, whose importance has not changed in the past two decades, are wages, tenure, personal health, and household structure.ConclusionsThe paradoxical relation between job satisfaction and job stickiness in the German nursing context could be explained by historical downsizing trends in hospitals, an East-West German nurse compensation gap, and an increase in the proportion of nurses employed on a part-time basis. A clearer analysis of each of these trends is thus essential for the development of evidence-based policies that enhance the job satisfaction and efficiency of the German nursing workforce.
Highlights
Literature reports a direct relation between nurses’ job satisfaction and their job retention
German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) information is collected via an annual survey in which individuals indicate their current situation or reflect on certain life events that have occurred since the last interview
The GSOEP has been reviewed by the British Economic and Social Research Council and the data is collected with an ISO certificate since 1995
Summary
Literature reports a direct relation between nurses’ job satisfaction and their job retention (stickiness). Among nurses under the age of 30 in Germany, Canada, the USA, England, and Scotland, 27–54% reported plans to leave their positions within the coming 12 months [5]. Healthcare organizations need to invest heavily in recruiting and training new staff while attempting to balance the work overload on the remaining nurses [10, 11]. This in turn may result in higher burnout and dissatisfaction for staff and poor health outcomes for patients [2, 12, 13]
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