Creating a healthy workplace for new-generation nurses

Purpose: To examine dimensions of the psychosocial work environment that influence the psychological health of new-generation nurses. Background: While much work has been done concerning the health of nurses in general, research on the relationship between the nursing work environment and the psychological well-being of new-generation nurses at the start of their careers is limited. Design: A correlational descriptive design was used for this quantitative study. Survey data were collected from new nurses (N=309) whose names were obtained from a provincial licensing registry in Quebec, Canada. Findings: Among new nurses, 43.4% stated that they have a high level of psychological distress. These nurses were significantly more likely to perceive an imbalance between effort expended on the job and rewards received, low decisional latitude, high psychological demands, high job strain, as well as low social support from colleagues and superiors (p <= 0.05). Conclusions: Understanding the relationship between the work environment and health as experienced by new-generation nurses is imperative for creating interventions to successfully recruit and retain these young nurses. Clinical Relevance: Generation Y nurses in Quebec, faced with high levels of psychological distress because of their exposure to difficult nursing work environments, might leave the profession thereby exacerbating an already salient nursing shortage.