Collegian
Volume 14, Issue 2 , Pages 13-19, 2007

Nurses' Motivators to Work Part-Time

  • Lynn N. Jamieson, RN PhD

      Affiliations

    • Central Queensland Health Service District, Queensland
    • Corresponding Author InformationDr Lynn Jamieson
    • ,
  • Leonie Mosel Williams, RN PhD (Faculty of Science)

      Affiliations

    • Health and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
    • ,
  • William Lauder, RN PhD

      Affiliations

    • School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, Scotland
    • ,
  • Trudy Dwyer, RN PhD

      Affiliations

    • Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, Central Queensland University, Queensland

Article Outline

There has been a trend of growth in part-time employment within the Australian nursing workforce and currently half of the profession work part-time. While the literature across disciplines has postulated reasons behind preferences for part-time employment, little is known about nurses' motivators to work part-time. In an era of nursing shortages that form considerable barriers to meeting healthcare service demands, a clear understanding of these motivators is critical for the effective planning and management of the nursing workforce. A grounded theory study that explored the phenomenon of part-time nursing found that nurses' motivators to work part-time were complex and identifiable with nursing, establishing that nurses' working time decisions are made in contexts that may be unique to the profession. This paper provides an exhaustive description and explanation of one cohort of part-time nurses that accounts for variations between nurses and provides an understanding of the complexity of factors that contribute to nurses' decisions to work part-time.

Key words:  nursing workforce , part-time employment , motivators , shift work , multiple roles

No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.

 

Back to Article Outline

References 

  1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare  . Nursing and midwifery labour force 2003 . Cat. no. HWL 31 . Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 2005;
  2. Annells M . Grounded theory method: Philosophical perspectives, paradigm of inquiry, and postmodernism . Qualitative Health Research . 1996;6(3):379–393
  3. Armstrong-Stassen M , Al-Ma'aitah R , Cameron SJ , Horsburgh ME . The relationship between work status congruency and the job attitudes of full-time and part-time Canadian and Jordanian nurses . The International Journal of Human Resource Management . 1998;9(1):41–57
  4. Backman K , Kyngas HA . Challenges of the grounded theory approach to a novice researcher . Nursing and Health Sciences . 1999;1:147–153
  5. Barling F , Gallagher DG . Part-time employment . Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology . 1996;11:243–277
  6. Barnett RC , Hyde JS . Women, men, work, and family: An expansionist theory . American Psychologist . 2001;56(10):781–796
  7. Brooks I . Nurse retention: Moderating the ill-effects of shift work . Human Resource Management Journal . 2000;10(4):16–31
  8. Commonwealth of Australia, (2002). The patient profession: Time for action. Report on the inquiry into nursing. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/nursing/report/index.htm
  9. Coyne IT . Sampling in qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling; merging or clear boundaries? . Journal of Advanced Nursing . 1997;26:623–630
  10. Cutcliffe JR . Methodological issues in grounded theory . Journal of Advanced Nursing . 2000;31(6):1476–1484
  11. Duffy K , Ferguson C , Watson H . Data collecting in grounded theory-some practical issues . Nurse Researcher . 2004;11(4):67–78
  12. Edwards CY , Robinson O . Evaluating the business case for part-time working amongst qualified nurses . British Journal of Industrial Relations . 2004;42(1):167–183
  13. Fitzpatrick JM , While AE , Roberts J . Shift work and its impact upon nurse performance: Current knowledge and research issues . Journal of Advanced Nursing . 1999;29(1):18–27
  14. Garbett R . Speaking out . Nursing Times . 1996;11(37):52–53
  15. Godfrey MA . Is part-time nursing the answer for you? Part 1 . Nursing . 1980;10(10):65–72
  16. Greenhaus JH , Beutell NJ . Sources of conflict between work and family roles . Academy of Management Review . 1985;10(000001):76–88
  17. Grosswald B . Shift work and negative work-to-family spillover . Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare . 2003;30(4):31–56
  18. Hakim C . Key issues in women's work: Female heterogeneity and polarisation of women's employment . London: Athlone.; 1996;
  19. Hakim C . The sexual division of labour and women's heterogeneity . The British Journal of Sociology . 1996;47(1):178–188
  20. Hakim C . Social change and innovation in the labour market . Melbourne: Oxford University Press.; 1998;
  21. Hawksworth, G. (1999). The nursing perspective. Retrieved from http://www.qnu.org.au/worktimelife.htm
  22. Hegney D , Plank A , Parker V . Nursing workloads: The results of a study of Queensland Nurses . Journal of Nursing Management . 2003;11(5):307–314
  23. International Council of Nurses, (2000). Nurses and shift work. Retrieved from http://www.icn.ch/psshiftwork00.htm
  24. Jamal M , Baba VV . Shiftwork and department-type related to job stress, work attitudes and behavioral intentions: A study of nurses . Journal of Organizational Behavior . 1992;13:449–464
  25. Jansen NW , Kant I , Kristensen TS , Nijhuis F . Antecedents and consequences of work-family conflict: A prospective cohort study . Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine . 2003;45(5):479–491
  26. Kemp J . Career paths revisited: The experiences of graduates in nursing who no longer work full-time . Journal of Advanced Nursing . 1994;20:377–381
  27. Khalil A , Davies N . The experiences of nurses returning to work after childbirth: ‘Making a difference’ . Journal of Nursing Management . 2000;8(6):337–344
  28. Lomborg K , Kirkevold M . Truth and validity in grounded theory – a reconsidered realist interpretation of the criteria: Fit, work, relevance and modifiability . Nursing Philosophy . 2003;4(3):189–200
  29. MacDonald M , Schreiber RS . Constructing and deconstructing: Grounded theory in a postmodern world . In:  Schreiber RS ,  Stern PN editor. Using grounded theory in nursing . New York: Springer; 2001;p. 35–53
  30. McCann TV , Clark E . Grounded theory in nursing research: Part 1 – methodology . Nurse Researcher . 2003;11(2):7–18
  31. Newell S . The myth and destructiveness of equal opportunities: The continued dominance of the mothering role . Personnel Review . 1992;21(4):37–47
  32. Olofsson B , Bengtsson C , Brink E . Absence of response: A study of nurses' experience of stress in the workplace . Journal of Nursing Management . 2003;11(5):351–358
  33. Pocock, B. (2001). Having a life: Work, family, fairness and community in 2000. Retrieved from http://www.arts.adelaide.edu.au/social_inquiry/staff/pocock_barbara.htm
  34. Pocock B . The work/life collision . Sydney: Federation Press.; 2003;
  35. Poissonnet CM , Véron M . Health effects of work schedules in healthcare professions . Journal of Clinical Nursing . 2000;9(1):13–23
  36. Queensland Health, (1999). Ministerial taskforce: Nursing recruitment & retention. Retrieved from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/publications/hau/qh_nrr.pdf
  37. Queensland Nurses' Union, (2001). Summary of QNU recommendations: Senate inquiry into nursing 2001. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/eet_ctte/skills/submissions/sub015b.pdf
  38. Queensland Nurses' Union, (2002). Submission by the Queensland Nurses' Union: Queensland Work and Family Taskforce 2002. Retrieved from the http://www.qnu.org.au/_data/page/253/subworkfamily.pdf
  39. Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, (2003). Survey of casual and part-time registered nurses in Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.rnao.org/html/PDF/RNAO_part_time_casual_report.pdf
  40. Robinson, S., Marsland, L., Murrells, T., Tingle, A., & Smith, R. (n.d). Careers of registered general nurses. Combining work and family: Nurses' experiences four to eight years after qualification. Executive summary. Retrieved from http://www.kcl.ac.uk/nursing/nru/pdf/rgn/RGN%20Exec%20sum-final.pdf
  41. Schreiber RS . The “how to” of grounded theory: Avoiding the pitfalls . In:  Schreiber RS ,  Stern PN editor. Using grounded theory in nursing . New York: Springer; 2001;p. 55–83
  42. Smith K , Biley F . Understanding grounded theory: principles and evaluation . Nurse Researcher . 1997;4:17–30
  43. Strauss A , Corbin J . Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory . 2nd ed.. London: Sage; 1998;
  44. Thomas L , Ganster D . Impact of family-supportive work variables on work-family conflict and strain: A control perspective . Journal of Applied Psychology . 1995;80(1):6–15
  45. Thorsteinson TJ . Job attitudes of part-time vs. full-time workers: A meta-analytic review . Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology . 2003;76(2):151–177
  46. Thornthwaite, L. (2002). Work-family balance: International research on employee preferences. Retrieved from http://www.acirrt.com
  47. Totterdell P , Spelten E , Smith L , Barton J , Folkard S . Recovery from work shifts: How long does it take? . Journal of Applied Psychology . 1995;80(1):43–57
  48. Walsh J . Myths and counter-myths: an analysis of part-time female employees and their orientations to work and working hours . Work, Employment & Society . 1999;13(2):179–203
  49. Wetzel K , Soloshy DE , Gallagher DG . The work attitudes of full-time and part-time registered nurses . Health Care Management Review . 1990;15(3):79–85
  50. White L , Keith B . The effect of shift work on the quality and stability of marital relations . Journal of Marriage and the Family . 1990;52(2):453–462
  51. Wickett D , McCutcheon H , Long L . Commentary: An Australian perspective . Journal of Advanced Nursing . 2003;43(4):343–345
  52. Wilson JL . The impact of shift patterns on healthcare professionals . Journal of Nursing Management . 2002;10(4):211–219

PII: S1322-7696(08)60550-8

doi:10.1016/S1322-7696(08)60550-8

Collegian
Volume 14, Issue 2 , Pages 13-19, 2007

Article Tools