Abstract
Background:There exists significant concern internationally about the ability of the nursing workforce to meet the growing health demands of populations. Contributing to this concern is a globally aging population, increasing life expectancies, and an ageing health workforce that is approaching retirement age. Strategies to address this issue relate to recruitment and retention of staff within the sector. As job satisfaction is shown to be associated with employee retention, understanding the requirements of the nursing profession with the aim to further engage staff has been a focus in international literature. Different generations have been shown to hold varying desired traits from their place of employment, with some authors suggesting that generation-specific retention strategies would be most effective.
Aim: The purpose of this review is to contribute to the existing knowledge-base in this area, with the view to assist in creation of targeted retention strategies. Therefore, the specific aim of this paper is to identify important components of job satisfaction for Generation Y nurses in OECD countries.
Methods: An integrative review methodology was adopted, specifically, utilising a convergent integrative approach, according to JBI Reviewer Manual guidelines. The search strategy was applied to eight databases, which following quality appraisal processes, resulted in 11 articles for inclusion in the study. Data was extracted using thematic analysis.
Results: Three themes, and nine subthemes, were generated from this review. The themes were: Challenging Practice Environments, which encompasses concerns around heavy workloads, challenging scheduling, and availability of professional opportunities. Positive Relationships, which relates to beneficial and supportive relationships with peers and supervisors, and a connection with the nursing profession. The final theme, Feelings of Contribution, Value, and Safety within the Workplace, describes the importance for this age group to feel supported, recognised and appreciated as a nurse within their employment setting.
Conclusion:Across countries and health systems, there exists relatively consistent findings relating to the job satisfaction factors of this demographic. Although there are concerns about the engagement of Generation Y nurses with their chosen profession, there are currently programmes being implemented both locally and internationally, designed to address the negative components of nursing as identified in this review. These programmes are typically at early stages of implementation, and as such, the implications of their use are currently unknown.