The relationship of personality characteristics to job satisfaction in a nursing population

Thorburn, Barbara A. (1984) The relationship of personality characteristics to job satisfaction in a nursing population. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study described the personality characteristics and work environment of two groups of nurses--those working in the Intensive Care Units, and nurses working in the Psychiatric setting--to determine if job satisfaction was related to the congruence of nurse personality and nursing environment. The sample consisted of 152 nurses (74 ICU and 78 Psychiatric) employed in eight hospitals in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Data was gathered using a survey type questionnaire. The principal analysis was performed using the Environmental Assessment Technique, and chi square analyses, rejecting the null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. -- The theoretical constructs of the research were based on John Holland's (1973) theory of career choice. The Self-Directed search was used to determine the personality characteristics of nurses and their work environment. The Job Descriptive Index was used to examine the nurses’ degree of job satisfaction. -- Both nursing environments were found to be primarily social in nature, with the Psychiatric environment having a higher degree of differentiation and consistency than the Intensive Care milieu. The degree of job satisfaction was found to be dependent upon the combination of type of nurse and the level of congruence. Job satisfaction differed in nursing types and was found to relate to the level of congruence. -- Recommendations dealt with the identification of a bias toward the social type personality in the nursing profession as well as career counseling strategies; further research into the Holland environmental codes of other nursing specialty areas, and an alternate approach to defining congruence.

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