Staffing and job satisfaction: nurses and nursing assistants BEATRICE KALISCH PhD, RN, FAAN 1 and KYUNG HEE LEE RN, MPH, GNP, PhD 2 1 Titus Distinguished Professor of Nursing and Director, Innovation and Evaluation, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA and 2 Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Nursing, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA Correspondence Beatrice J. Kalisch Nursing Business and Health Systems University of Michigan School of Nursing 400 N. Ingalls Street Ann Arbor Michigan 48103 USA E-mail: bkalisch@umich.edu KALISCH B. & LEE K.H. (2014) Journal of Nursing Management 22, 465–471. Staffing and job satisfaction: nurses and nursing assistants Aim The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between staffing and job satisfaction of registered nurses (RNs) and nursing assistants (NAs). Background Although a number of previous studies have demonstrated the link between the numbers of patients cared for on the last shift and/or perceptions of staffing adequacy, we could find only one study that utilized a measure of actual staffing (opposed to perceptions of staffing adequacy) and correlated it with job satisfaction of registered nurses. Methods This cross-sectional study included 3523 RNs and 1012 NAs in 131 patient care units. Staff were surveyed to determine job satisfaction and demographic variables. In addition, actual staffing data were collected from each of the study units. Results Hours per patient day was a significant positive predictor for registered nurse job satisfaction after controlling for covariates. For NAs, a lower skill mix was marginally significant with higher job satisfaction. In addition, the more work experience the NAs reported, the lower their job satisfaction. Conclusion Adequate staffing levels are essential for RN job satisfaction whereas NA job satisfaction depends on the number of assistive personnel in the mix of nursing staff. Implications for Nursing Management Two implications are (1) providing adequate staffing is critical to maintain RN job satisfaction and (2) the NA job needs to be re-engineered to make it a more attractive and satisfying career. Keywords: job satisfaction, nurse, nursing assistant, staffing Accepted for publication: 2 August 2012 Introduction Job satisfaction is a critical issue for nursing staff, administrators, as well as patients as it has been asso- ciated with turnover, quality of nursing care (Khowaja et al. 2005, Murrells et al. 2005), patient outcomes, including mortality rates and failure to rescue (Adams & Bond 2000, Best & Thurston 2004), as well as patient satisfaction with nursing care (Seago 2002). High turnover is a problem which impacts the quality of nursing care provided by the nursing team (Castle & Engberg 2005). Studies have examined factors that are correlated with job satisfaction and quality of care. Previous studies have shown a clear linkage between percep- tions of staffing adequacy and job satisfaction (Dunn et al. 2005, Khowaja et al. 2005, Lapane & Hughes 2007, Anderson et al. 2009, Rochefort & Clarke DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12012 ª 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 465 Journal of Nursing Management, 2014, 22, 465–471