When it comes to job satisfaction, a new survey shows nurse leaders have a lot to like, but about one-third also perceive inequity in treatment compared with non-nursing departments.
Nurse leaders are satisfied with their jobs but less satisfied with their pay and benefits. And while most report equal treatment compared with non-nursing colleagues, 30% of chief nursing officers perceive inequity.
Those are some of the takeaways from the 2013 Salary and Compensation Study for Nurse Leaders from the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association. It finds that 62% of nurse leaders are very satisfied and another 29% are somewhat satisfied with their jobs. But the numbers are lower when it comes to benefits and compensation: 48% say they're highly satisfied with benefits and only 34% are highly satisfied with their compensation.
Yet the findings also reveal that when it comes to job satisfaction, there are other elements that seem to trump the dollar amount on the paycheck.
"When looking at the satisfaction for aspects of their job, items such as 'I find joy and meaning in my work" and "relationship with co-workers' are very high," Pam Thompson, MS, RN, CENP, FAAN, AONE's CEO, tells HealthLeaders Media via email. "I think these personal factors play more into job satisfaction than compensation. Nurses by nature are compassionate and caring people. Compensation is not the only driver for satisfaction."
In fact, when nurse leaders were asked why they chose to stay in their current job, 44% said because they find joy and meaning in the work, the top response.
Thompson says that the average responding nurse leader has been in nursing leadership for at least six years, is between the ages of 45 and 64, holds a master's degree, and earns between $100,000 and $130,000 annually. And for nurse leaders, experience rules the day.
"The survey validated what we suspected as the current state of nurse leader compensation. The longer you are in nursing leadership and the more responsibility you have, the higher your compensation," Thompson says.
Also, gender doesn't seem to play a role.
"An interesting fact is the lack of compensation inequality based on gender," she says. "There is virtually no variation between compensation for males and females."
The survey was also interesting because of the scope of nurse leaders who were included.
"Nurses demonstrate leadership skills every day in their interactions with patients and co-workers. Because of this, we surveyed the entire spectrum of nurses who participate in leadership—not just those in formal managerial roles," Thompson says. "This allowed us to collect information for the spectrum of nursing leadership, from clinical staff all the way to the CNO, as well as professors/deans and consultants."
Although the majority of those surveyed comprises directors (32%), managers (26%), and CNOs/chief nursing executives (17%), other job titles were included in the survey, too, such as clinical staff, specialist/coordinator, consultant, APRN, and professor/dean.
In fact, when the survey is broken down by title and different aspects of job satisfaction, the results get more interesting. For instance, the quality of the relationship nurse leaders have with their direct reports fluctuates widely by job title. The survey finds that 95% and 94% of non-system and system CNOs, respectively, are very or somewhat satisfied with the relationship they have with their direct reports. That's compared to only 56% of clinical staff leaders and 50% of those with specialist/coordinator titles who say they're satisfied or somewhat satisfied with those relationships.
Although some aspects of job satisfaction varied by title, one area that got lower marks across the board was "equal treatment with other non-nursing functions." The percentages of those who were very or somewhat satisfied in that area generally hovered in the mid-60s up to 70%; vice presidents were slightly more satisfied at 76%.
"This question was meant to evaluate the respondent's perception of compensation equity across leadership positions in their organization," Thompson says.
Alexandra Wilson Pecci is an editor for HealthLeaders.
