Job satisfaction among hospital nurses: An updated literature review

Background

Nurses' job satisfaction has long been a global concern because of the critical significance it holds on nurse turnover and the quality and safety of patient care.

Objectives

To perform an updated literature review of the newly emerging studies on job satisfaction among hospital nurses.

Design

Literature review.

Data sources

Ten electronic database (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index, CNKI, SinoMed, CQVIP, WanFang) were searched for studies published between September 2018 and May 2024.

Review methods

Studies were included if they published in English or Chinese and focused on job satisfaction of qualified general nurses working in acute care hospitals. Data extraction, synthesis and content analysis were performed.

Results

Of the 28,584 studies originally identified, 52 studies were included in the final review. Thirty-eight influencing factors and twenty-nine predictors of nurses' job satisfaction across the domains of demographic characteristics, individual cognition and behaviors, and working environment and management were newly added in this updated review. Sixty-five factors, which were further grouped into eight subcategorizations: demographic characteristics, personality traits, emotion, behaviors, psychological and cognitive factors, organizational climate, leadership and management, were additionally identified as related factors of nurses' job satisfaction. Factors relating to nurses' individual cognition and behaviors mainly played mediating roles in the mediating pathways linking various factors with job satisfaction.

Conclusions

This review provides improved understanding of nurses' job satisfaction. Future studies could further explore the mechanisms by which factors relating to working environment and management predict or affect nurses' job satisfaction. The newly identified intrinsic factors from the mediating or moderating pathways offered valuable intervention insights for the improvement of nurses' job satisfaction.