Nurs Admin Q Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 152–157 Copyright c  2007 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Assessing the Quality of Nursing Work Life Beth A. Brooks, PhD, RN, FACHE; Judy Storfjell, PhD, RN; Osei Omoike, MS, MBA, RN; Susan Ohlson, MSA, RN; Irene Stemler, BSN, RN; Joan Shaver, PhD, RN, FAAN; Amy Brown, MS, RN Traditionally, nursing has measured job satisfaction by focusing on employees’ likes and dislikes. However, job satisfaction is an unsatisfactory construct to assess either the jobs themselves or em- ployees’ feelings about work since as much as 30% of the variance explained in job satisfaction surveys is a function of personality, something employers can do little to change. Based on socio- technical systems theory, quality of nursing work life (QNWL) assessments focus on identifying opportunities for nurses to improve their work and work environment while achieving the orga- nization’sgoals. Moreover, some evidence suggests that improvements in work life are needed to improve productivity. Therefore, assessing QNWL reveals areas for improvement where the needs of both the employees and the organization converge. The purpose of this article was to assess the QNWL of staff nurses using Brooks’ Quality of Nursing Work Life Survey. Key words: autonomy, organizational support, quality of nursing work life, work design N URSING is experiencing an unprece- dented shortage of skilled profession- als as supply dwindles and demand esca- lates. Concurrent to this shortage of nurses are ongoing recruitment and retention chal- lenges. In fact, retention of skilled nurses is vital if organizations are to survive. In fact, AON Consulting maintains that the number one driver of employee commitment is the organization’s focus on retention. 1 For this reason, organizations are diligently trying to understand both what attracts nurses to a cer- From the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. Currently, Dr Brooks is Senior Partner for Health Care with JWT Employment Communicat- ions, Chicago, Ill. This research was supported by a grant from HRSA, D66HP01385, from 2003 to 2008. The authors ac- knowledge Irene Stemler, BSN, RN, and Amy Brown, MS, RN (Nurse Retention Project Site Coordinators at the time this work was completed) and express gratitude to the partnership hospitals’ nursing leaders and nursing staff. Corresponding author: Osei Omoike, MS, MBA, RN, Room 924, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, 845 S Damen Ave (M/C 802), Chicago, IL 60612 (e-mail: oomoik3@uic.edu). tain employer and what retains nurses in an organization. One promising method to explore and un- derstand nurse recruitment and retention is to assess the quality of nursing work life (QNWL). Assessing nursing work life affords organizations an opportunity to understand how work environments, work design, soci- etal influences, as well as work and home life balance issues impact nurses’ work life and ul- timately organizational productivity. Based on sociotechnical systems (STS) theory, 2 QNWL assessments focus on identifying opportuni- ties for nurses to improve their work and work environment while achieving the or- ganization’s goals. Moreover, some evidence suggests that improvements in work life are needed to improve productivity. Therefore, assessing QNWL reveals areas for improve- ment where the needs of both nurses and the organization converge. PROBLEM As much as 30% of the variance explained in job satisfaction surveys is a function of 152