Purpose: This study examined whether the individual and organisational factors of ecological systems theory are associated with job satisfaction among nurses in South Korea.
Background: Nursing shortages and high turnover rates are a global issue in healthcare settings, and job satisfaction is significantly associated with the turnover intention of nurses. Therefore, efforts to promote job satisfaction are needed to decrease the high turnover rates among nurses and promote care quality and patient safety.
Design: A cross-sectional study was performed. This paper adhered to the STROBE guidelines.
Methods: A sample of 438 nurses working in five secondary or tertiary hospitals was surveyed. The study instruments included work-life balance, resilience, insomnia and job satisfaction.
Results: Using multilevel analysis, both individual and organisational factors were associated significantly with job satisfaction, and variance at the group level accounted for 19.98% of the total variance of job satisfaction. Among the individual factors, marital status and work-life balance were significantly associated with job satisfaction. At the organisational level, the group mean resilience score was significantly associated with job satisfaction (p < .05).
Conclusion: The psychosocial characteristics of individual nurses and their affiliated groups (nursing units) were significant in explaining the job satisfaction of nurses.
Relevance to clinical practice: Both individual-focused and group-focused interventions are needed to improve job satisfaction and decrease the turnover intention.
Keywords: registered nurses; resilience; work satisfaction; work-life balance.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.