Nursing Staff Satisfaction on a Mental Health Unit

The present study set out to assess the level of nurses' job satisfaction in an acute in-patient mental health setting. All but one (n = 22) of the full-time nursing staff employed on the unit took part in the study. Unlike many previous studies where the level of job satisfaction was assessed using predetermined questionnaire items but without providing an understanding for workers' choices, the present study sought an estimation of what job characteristics nurses saw as important, an estimation regarding their current satisfaction with each characteristic and, importantly, the reasons behind their choices.