The impact that career anchors and job compatibility of professional nurses has on job satisfaction – a predictor of turnover

Abstract

The healthcare workforce throughout the world is experiencing a shortage of healthcare workers and various strategies, processes and programs exist today of which nursing manager’s use to not only recruit nursing staff, but to retain these scarce resources. This research aims specifically to examine how career anchors and job compatibility influences the levels of job satisfaction of professional nurses. This study measured career anchors and job satisfaction to determine whether those whose job type and career anchor matched reported higher satisfaction than those whose job type and career anchor did not match. Results suggested that significant differences exist between functional nurses and managerial nurses. Specifically, the nursing group placed importance on lifestyle and service/dedication to a cause, while the managerial group places importance on functional competence and lifestyle. Finally, results indicated that job type and career anchor compatibility on their own might not be adequate predictors of job satisfaction.