Nursing staff teamwork and job satisfaction

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of unit characteristics, staff characteristics and teamwork on job satisfaction with current position and occupation.

Background: Teamwork has been associated with a higher level of job satisfaction but few studies have focused on the acute care inpatient hospital nursing team.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 3675 nursing staff from five hospitals and 80 patient care units. Participants completed the Nursing Teamwork Survey (NTS).

Results: Participants' levels of job satisfaction with current position and satisfaction with occupation were both higher when they rated their teamwork higher (P<0.001) and perceived their staffing as adequate more often (P<0.001). Type of unit influenced both satisfaction variables (P<0.05). Additionally, education, gender and job title influenced satisfaction with occupation (P<0.05) but not with current position.

Conclusions: Results of this present study demonstrate that within nursing teams on acute care patient units, a higher level of teamwork and perceptions of adequate staffing leads to greater job satisfaction with current position and occupation.

Implications for nursing management: Findings suggest that efforts to improve teamwork and ensure adequate staffing in acute care settings would have a major impact on staff satisfaction.