Employee acquisition and retention is an issue for all sectors in part due to the increased number of retirees of the baby boomer population. Employee turnover creates a large expense for employers related to the cost of recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training, and lost productivity (Vien, 2017). Merhar (2016) postulated that the cost of replacing an employee ranges from six months’ salary to as much as twice their annual salary. Retention is one way to reduce turnover. According to Vien (2017), retention is about “finding a balance between maximizing productivity and shaping an organization where your employees want to work” (p.26). As a result, it is vital that employees experience job satisfaction.
There is a current nursing shortage that is compounded by a shortage of nursing faculty (Plawecki, 2015). Nursing programs continue to struggle with having adequate funding and cannot afford the cost of faculty turnover. In addition, the nursing shortage decreases the supply of qualified faculty making it imperative that faculty turnover be kept to a minimum. One way to directly improve retention rates is by improving job satisfaction (Derby-Davis, 2014). Research has shown that salary and compensation is only a small part of job satisfaction (Wang & Liesveld, 2015). Lanham, Rye, Rimsky, and Weill (2012) found that workplace specific gratitude had a positive impact on job satisfaction and decreased symptoms of burnout.
Faculty are not always seeking a tangible or monetary award. Recognition, improvements in teaching environments and administrative support have all been shown to improve morale and increase job satisfaction (Canale, Herdklotz, & Wild, 2014). Appreciation and recognition efforts can be low cost and have minimal time commitment with large benefits that enhance job satisfaction. Cultivating a culture of appreciation or gratitude lets employees know they are cared for and that their contributions and accomplishments are noted and supported (Canale et al., 2014). Authentic appreciation can and does create a culture in which gratitude is the norm rather than the exception – a culture in which people feel valued for their work. In an effort to promote retention of nursing faculty, an ‘attitude of gratitude’ was cultivated to improve job satisfaction and increase collaboration in one school of nursing.
Method
Gratitude activities and interventions were offered to all nursing faculty as part of pre-planned yearlong team building activities. The surveys were administered prior to the start of the semester and at the end of the school year to assess if the activities had any impact on faculty job satisfaction and teamwork. The survey questions were adapted from the Grateful Organizations questionnaire as found on the Greater Good website (Berkeley, n.d.). The surveys were considered exempt and permission was given to proceed by the university IRB. A disclosure was on the first page of the survey and informed consent was implied with submission of the completed survey.
The theme of ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ was introduced in the opening faculty meeting, provided a book titled Attitudes of Gratitude by Ryan (1999), and outlined the plan for the year. The book was chosen to support the theme and to provide guidance for group discussions at optional lunch sessions held twice each semester. Gratitude moments were instituted for recognition of whomever or whatever faculty chose during each faculty meeting at each level (ADN, RN-BSN, and MSN) throughout the year. The gratitude moments were on each meeting agenda and initiated by administration with increased participation by faculty throughout the year. A private social media group site related to this topic was established for faculty and staff to share and interact socially with each other outside of the work environment. A gratitude bulletin board was set-up in the break room and changed three times during the year. The bulletin board allowed faculty and staff to post different notes of thanks and recognize people or things for which they were grateful. The ultimate goal in introducing these gratitude interventions was to create a more grateful environment that would ultimately lead to increased collaboration and job satisfaction for faculty.
Results
The gratitude interventions were easy and inexpensive to implement. Faculty were more involved and participated at much higher levels during the year than was anticipated. The 17.9% increase in faculty stating high to moderately high job satisfaction was a significant increase, although fewer people responded to the post-survey, which may have skewed the results. The final survey was completed at the end of the spring semester prior to summer break so faculty may have been expressed greater job satisfaction knowing that they had three months off coming up. It is interesting to note that faculty did not report expressing more or less gratitude to coworkers but did feel that there was an increase in expression of gratitude from administration, which combined with the interventions, may have helped to increase the overall rating of job satisfaction. Most faculty felt that the interventions were sometimes to always helpful in promoting teamwork and collaboration and improving job satisfaction.
Conclusion
Implementing gratitude into the work environment is an easy and inexpensive intervention to help create a positive and appreciative culture. The response from faculty was overwhelmingly positive and we found that our work and home environments were improved by practicing gratitude. The gratitude discussions resulted in faculty communicating more openly thus deepening appreciation of each other in a way that would not have occurred otherwise. Job satisfaction was increased by practicing an attitude of gratitude through improved teamwork and feeling more appreciated by administration. As Emmons and McCullough (2003) pointed out, it is not possible to focus on the negative if you are focused on the positive.
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