Job Satisfaction and Anxiety Levels among Nurses working in Renal Units

Background: The job satisfaction of nurses has become a major issue in the international literature, as nursing turnover is rising. Job stress and the working environment are closely related to job satisfaction. Aim: To investigate the degree of job satisfaction and state and trait anxiety of nursing staff working in renal centres. Method: The study was conducted in the VI Health Region of Greece where 120 nurses working in renal units completed a closed type questionnaire regarding job satisfaction, while their level of anxiety was evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 13.0. Results: The majority of the participating nurses were women (84.2%). The mean state anxiety value was 41.4 (SD=11.8), and the mean trait anxiety value was 38.6 (SD=11.0). No satisfaction or only moderate satisfaction with their type of work was reported by 58.3% of the nurses, while 57.5% reported no or moderate satisfaction with their work position. State anxiety levels were significantly higher in nurses reporting no or moderate satisfaction, than in those who were most satisfied both with their type of work (p=0.048) and their work position (p=0.012). Nurses tend to be dissatisfied with the amount of information they receive about the hospital administration policy regarding their unit (mean value: -0.55), while the information they receive from their directors comes next (mean value: 0.19). Conclusions: The job satisfaction of nursing staff working in renal units is at only moderate levels, and high anxiety levels are related to a low degree of satisfaction with the work.