Analysis and strategy research on quality of nursing work life

Quality of Working Life (QWL) was developed in 1970s as a new theory on a basis of social-technical system theory. In 2004, Brooks considered that quality of nursing work life is a degree to which the registered nurses are able to satisfy important personal needs through their experiences in their work organization's goal. Quality of Nursing Work Life plays an important role in nursing management. The purpose of the project was to identify factors associated with nursing work life quality. A convenience sample of 3498 nurses from five tertiary general hospitals in Shanxi, Shandong, and Liaoning provinces in China was surveyed regarding quality of work life, working conditions, stress at work, general being, and job and career satisfaction (JCS). The mean overall quality of work life score was found to be 3.40 ± 0.61 (on a scale of 1–5, with 5 being the highest), while the working conditions and stress at work received lower scores. The general well-being of females (3.49 ± 0.74) was higher than that of males (3.35 ± 0.87). We also found a statistically significant difference of JCS of different department groups (P = .004). The quality of working life of nurses was found to be in the middle range, with room for improvement. Nurse managers have an opportunity to implement measures to improve the quality of working life for nurses in China.