Abstract
Because of a perceived decline in staff morale, the UK National Health Service has begun to routinely assess the extent to which commitment to the National Health Service may aid staff retention. While a number of studies have investigated the role of employee commitment in relation to staff turnover, no research to date has empirically tested if staff commitment to the NHS could protect job satisfaction from the effects of high job demands, and if this varies according to age. Using latent variable path analysis, this novel study examined this question among a national sample of Healthcare Professionals Allied to Medicine in the National Health Service. The results indicate that the negative effects of high job demands on job satisfaction were fully mediated by commitment to the National Health Service, but age mattered. Among the over 45s and over 55s, commitment to the National Health Service acted as an effective buffer against the negative effects of job demands on job satisfaction, but this effect was not as strong among the 35–44 age group. The broader policy implications of these findings are that age sensitive policies to support NHS workforce retention are needed. Also, pro-social institutions who employ Healthcare Professionals Allied to Medicine should develop policies for inspiring commitment to that institution, as it could help them with the demands of the job, and may even encourage more skilled workers to work longer.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 54-61 |
| Journal | Health Services Management Research |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 20 Apr 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2021 |
Funding
We wish to thank the Medical Research Council for funding this study (Project MR/L006634/1). We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all the respondents and employees of the participating Trusts who gave up their time to inform this study. We would particularly acknowledge the support of the UK professional bodies of Allied Healthcare Professionals who assisted us with the survey. The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. We wish to thank the Medical Research Council for funding this study (Project MR/L006634/1). We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all the respondents and employees of the participating Trusts who gave up their time to inform this study. We would particularly acknowledge the support of the UK professional bodies of Allied Healthcare Professionals who assisted us with the survey.
Keywords
- age
- Allied Healthcare Professionals
- commitment to National Health Service
- job demands
- job satisfaction
- mediation analysis
- National Health Service
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health Policy
