Organisational climate, biographical factors, and job satisfaction : a national survey of nurses in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

Background and Justification for the Study: This study grew out of a longstanding interest in job satisfaction and its relationship with organisational climate. Several research studies have demonstrated the importance of employee job satisfaction. There is, however, a general consensus in the literature on nursing that job satisfaction among nurses is relatively low. The effects of biographical factors, such as age and gender, on job satisfaction have been examined in previous studies but the results were mixed. In addition, the literature has stressed that organisational climate factors play an important role in job satisfaction. In view of the fact that (a) nurses have reported low levels of job satisfaction, (b) that reported correlations between biographical factors and job satisfaction are mixed, and (c) that very few nursing research studies have examined the relationship between organisational climate and job satisfaction among nurses, it seemed both appropriate and timely to undertake a study to examine these issues. Furthermore, no Irish studies have investigated the effects of biographical factors on job satisfaction and on the relationship between organisational climate factors and job satisfaction among nurses.