By Debra Wood, RN, contributor

August, 26, 2010 - Nurses are known as dedicated professionals who work tirelessly for their patients. But nurses appear to be far less connected to their employers and colleagues.  In fact, nearly half of the nurses and other hospital employees in a recent survey reported that they feel disconnected or distanced from their work. While there were some improvements over survey results from past years, the data showed that there is still plenty of room for hospitals to improve in the area of employee relations.

Deirdre Mylod, Ph.D., reports that Press Ganey data shows improvement in the number of hospital employees who feel dedicated, while the number of engaged yet dissatisfied employees provides an opportunity for healthcare facilities.

“We need to make sure [hospitals] are doing what we should be for employees, nursing staff in particular, because how they feel about their organization is directly related to how well the organization is doing on quality measures,” said Deirdre Mylod, Ph.D., vice president of hospital services for Press Ganey in South Bend, Ind.

The research firm’s 2010 Hospital Pulse Report: Employee and Nurse Perspectives on American Health Care found that 45 percent of hospital employees feel disconnected with their work — engaged but not satisfied their basic needs are met — or distanced from their work, meaning they are both dissatisfied and disengaged.

On a positive note, 51 percent reported feeling dedicated, both satisfied with the work environment and engaged in it, willing to give a lot.

“We have more engaged people than we used to have,” Mylod said. “It behooves us to get the disconnected folks into the dedicated group.”

Compared to last year, both the percentage of dedicated and discontented employees increased. The dedicated cohort is up from 43 percent and the discontented group increased to 19.2 percent from 15 percent. Since the discontented group remains engaged, the challenge is to find what will help them feel more satisfied, Mylod said.

The report showed employees working closest to patients were least likely to feel satisfied and engaged with the organization, with nurses scoring lower on partnership metrics than any other group of employees.

“I think some of it can be a feeling of being disconnected to the bigger vision and the feeling of being underappreciated,” Mylod said. “Nursing staff tends to be highly engaged. I often say nurses come to their jobs engaged, and the system beats it out of them.”

Press Ganey examined the experiences of more than 235,000 employees, including 85,495 nurses, at 383 U.S. hospitals. It measured three types of engagement: with the work performed, with colleagues and with the organization.

The team also found that older employees, born in or before 1945, are more satisfied than younger employees. Gen Y and Gen X employees, born from 1965 to 1995, indicated a greater need to receive recognition, to be included in decisions and to communicate in real time with hospital administration.

Mylod indicates the younger people are more accustomed to technology, feedback and a participatory social style.

“The younger generation wants to be involved in solving problems and feeling that they can make a contribution,” Mylod said.

Nurses ranked leaders listening to employees as most important to their satisfaction, followed by having an opportunity to influence policies and decisions affecting their work, recognition, members of the work group asking for staff opinions, and leaders planning for the future.

Press Ganey recommends employers focus on valuing and empowering staff members by forming partnerships in which employees feet satisfied and engaged and creating an environment in which staff develops emotional bonds with colleagues and the organization. 

“The priority areas are for people to feel they are listened to, know what is going on in the organization, that they have a part in it and get feedback about their role,” Mylod said. 

The researchers found a strong correlation between patient satisfaction and employee partnership and between physician satisfaction and employee partnership.

Gregory A. Partamian, reports that changing a hospital’s culture takes time, but can pay off with better patient and employee satisfaction.

“It’s an accepted principle: if employees are happy and feeling secure in a job, it’s easier for them to focus on the challenge of taking care of doctors and patients,” said Gregory A. Partamian, chief operating officer at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center in Rochester, Mich., a facility that has demonstrated change is possible.

The Pulse Report offers the positive changes made at Crittenton as a case study. In the 2007 survey, the facility ranked in the 26th percentile nationally for partnership, which showed that a number of employees didn’t feel they were part of the team. Hospital leaders developed a steering committee with team captains responsible for different aspects of service, including an employee pride/satisfaction team, which developed projects to help engage employees.

Senior leaders attended department meetings. An intranet site helped with timely communication and presented a vehicle for showing employees recognition, and the hospital held events and outings, such as a Father’s Day luncheon and a hot-dog picnic, to build community.

“We created a little fun,” Partimian said. “We also have committed to having no layoffs. We have fought hard to protect resources and people’s jobs.”

The hospital’s efforts have paid off. Employees help watch spending and overtime. By 2010, the hospital ranked in the 76th percentile nationally for partnership. Registered nurse turnover dropped from 15.5 percent to 1.2 percent. Patient satisfaction jumped from the seventh percentile to the 86th percentile.

“All things came together, and it all adds up,” Partimian said. “It takes time to turn it around and for people to trust you. It didn’t happen overnight. It’s a culture change.”

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