Institutional Loyalty and Job Satisfaction among Nurse Aides in Nursing Homes

Abstract

The high rate of turnover among nurse aides employed in nursing homes has been associated with the low job status and the poor job benefits accorded workers. However, this is not always the case. Competitive benefit packages and limited labor market opportunities increase the likelihood that nurse aides in some nursing homes may stay on the job despite their dissatisfaction with it. The present study investigated "institutional loyalty," an attitudinal proxy for job turnover, among 219 nurse aides for its relationship to a number of job-related factors. Somewhat unexpectedly, the quality of the social environment of the nursing home was found to be as important as attitudes toward job benefits in accounting for institutional loyalty.