Department of Sociology, University of Akron, Olin Hall 247, Akron, OH 44325-1905, USA.
Gerontologist. 2013 Apr;53(2):222-34. doi: 10.1093/geront/gns085. Epub 2012 Aug 8.
While theories of job turnover generally assume a strong correlation between job satisfaction, intention, and retention, such models may be limited in explaining turnover of low-wage health care workers. Low-wage workers likely have a lower ability to act on their employment intentions or plans due to a lack of resources that serve to cushion higher wage workers. In this study, we examine the relationship between job satisfaction, intention, and retention of nursing assistants in nursing homes and the role that "contingency factors" play in employment intentions and retention. We conceptualize "contingency factors" as resource-related constraints (e.g., being a single mother) that likely influence employment trajectories of individuals but can be independent of job satisfaction or intent.
We use survey data from 315 nursing assistants in 18 nursing homes in a U.S. southern state to model employment intentions and retention.
We find that job satisfaction and other perceived job characteristics (e.g., workload and perceived quality of care) are significant predictors of an individual's intent to stay in their job, the occupation of nursing assistant, and the field of long-term care. However, we find that job satisfaction and employment intentions are not significant predictors of retention. Instead, "contingency factors" such as being a primary breadwinner and individual characteristics (e.g., tenure and past health care experience) appear to be stronger factors in the retention of nursing assistants.
Our findings have implications for understanding turnover among low-wage health care workers and the use of proxies such as employment intentions in measuring turnover.
虽然工作离职的理论通常假设工作满意度、意图和保留之间存在很强的相关性，但这些模型可能在解释低薪医疗保健工作者的离职方面存在局限性。由于缺乏缓冲高工资工人的资源，低薪工人可能由于缺乏资源而无法按照自己的就业意图或计划行事。在这项研究中，我们考察了养老院护理助理的工作满意度、意图和保留之间的关系，以及“应急因素”在就业意图和保留中的作用。我们将“应急因素”概念化为资源相关的限制因素（例如，作为单身母亲），这些因素可能会影响个人的就业轨迹，但可以独立于工作满意度或意图。
我们使用美国南部一个州的 18 家养老院的 315 名护理助理的调查数据来对就业意图和保留进行建模。
我们发现工作满意度和其他感知工作特征（例如，工作量和感知护理质量）是个人留任、护理助理职业和长期护理领域的重要预测因素。然而，我们发现工作满意度和就业意图并不是保留的重要预测因素。相反，“应急因素”，如作为主要养家糊口的人，以及个人特征（例如，任期和过去的医疗保健经验），似乎是留住护理助理的更强因素。
我们的研究结果对于理解低薪医疗保健工作者的离职以及在衡量离职时使用就业意图等替代指标具有重要意义。
