Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors That Contribute to Perceived Job Satisfaction Among Emergency Department Staff Nurses

This study was based on the results of Herzberg\u27s studies in job satisfaction which infer that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are unipolar traits rather than opposite points of a bipolar continuum. His results suggest that intrinsic factors will be named more frequently regarding job satisfaction; extrinsic factors will be predominantly associated with reasons given for job satisfaction. The recent upsurge of specialization in nursing prompted this exploratory study to determine factors which contribute to job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among nurses employed in a specific practice area. Emergency department nurses from five hospitals in a large Midwestern city participated in this research. An open-.ended questionnaire was developed for data collection; 55 were distributed, 39 were completed and returned directly to the researcher. The overall premise of Herzberg\u27s work was supported in the present study. Reasons given for feelings of job satisfaction elicited 94 Intrinsic and 34 Extrinsic responses. Conversely, to the question of job dissatisfaction, subjects named 68 Extrinsic and 44 Intrinsic responses. Nature of the Work Itself (70) and Peer Relationships (39) were the most frequently mentioned factors in overall response to both questions. Implications and recommendations for nursing management are discussed