Comparing lower level work environment needs with higher level work environment needs in an inpatient registered nurse sample

Nurses are clearly dissatisfied with their work environment. A recent survey found 1 in 5 nurses expect to leave nursing in the next five years, largely as a result of poor working conditions. Determining the root cause of their dissatisfaction will provide the basis for developing interventions to improve the work environment.;There is evidence that nurses in inpatient settings are most concerned about low level needs such as having enough rest between shifts, adequate staffing to provide safe care and meal breaks during their work shift. Past studies of the work environment focused on higher level needs such as control over practice and autonomy. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs was used as the framework for categorizing selected aspects of the work environment. The purpose of this study was to correlate lower level work environment needs with higher level work environment needs in a registered nurse sample. A second purpose was to use a planned comparison approach to determine the influence of age on nurses' scores for lower level and higher level work environment needs.;A total of 70 inpatient registered nurses participated in the study. Lower level needs need were measured by the Occupational Stress Inventory Revised. Higher level needs were measured by the Nursing Work Index-Revised. Results supported the hypothesis that low and high level needs were positively correlated. The influence of age was not significant. However, only two of the three age cohorts were used for comparison due to an inadequate sample of older participants.;Results of this study should be viewed with caution as they represent only one inpatient setting. The findings would suggest lower level needs must be met before higher level needs can be attained. If replication in diverse hospital settings confirms these findings, future research could focus on specific interventions aimed at specific need levels.