The casualisation of nursing jobs: a management response to having to do more with less

The role of professional identity commitment in understanding the relationship between casual employment and perceptions of career success

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine potential differences in identity commitment and career success perceptions between casually and permanently employed nurses. Specifically, it aims to investigate whether casually employed nurses have lower levels of commitment to their professional identity, as compared to permanently employed nurses, and whether this in turn negatively affects their perceptions of career success.

Design/methodology/approach

Role identity theory was used to predict the career success perceptions of casually employed (n=181) versus permanently employed (n=476) nurses. Data were collected via a self‐report questionnaire.

Findings

The data revealed that casual nurses had lower levels of identity commitment and more negative career success perceptions. Affective commitment fully mediated the relationship between employment status and subjective career success.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies should test the replicability of these findings with longitudinal data.

Originality/value

This paper provides novel insights to the temporary employment and careers literatures. Given the previously uncharted territory of understanding the role of identity in the career success perceptions of different categories of workers, it opens avenues for future research, while also answering theoretical questions about the identity and career consequences of temporary employment.

Nursing from the casual pool: Focus group study to explore the experiences of casual nurses

The use of flexible non-contract nursing staff is increasing in Australia and in other countries where there is currently a nursing shortage. There is sparse empirical evidence relating to the experience of these nurses. This focus group study with six groups of enrolled and registered nurses in one regional health authority in New South Wales reports on the challenges and rewards of working through the casual pool. The textual data were coded and reported in themes and subthemes; the overarching theme is balance of social and professional life, while subthemes are social politics, nursing work and professional performance. The results reveal that nurses who work from the casual pool have insight into the work environment and culture of clinical teams that is untapped formally. They have little or no chance to provide clinical teams with feedback or receive feedback on their own performance. The consequence of this study has been the development of a two-way performance intervention to promote high standards of care from nurses who work from the casual pool and the promotion of safe clinical environments and cultures.

Agency nursing in Melbourne, Australia: a telephone survey of hospital and agency managers

BACKGROUND

Agency nursing is a poorly understood and under-researched phenomenon. Despite the considerable costs and possible benefits of using agency nurses, little is known about the nature of agency nursing from different perspectives, including hospital and agency managers.

AIM

To describe the professional relationship between hospitals and nursing agencies, utilization trends of agency nurses, and institutional policies relating to the employment of agency nurses.

METHODS

A telephone survey was conveyed to managers of 70 acute hospitals (service purchasers) and 26 agencies (service providers) to provide baseline information on the utilization of agency nurses in acute hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. Introductory telephone calls were made to the chief nursing officers of the hospitals and the chief executive officers of nursing agencies in order to explain and seek approval for the proposed project. Approval to conduct telephone interviews was obtained from 30 acute hospitals and six agencies, representing a response rate of 43% and 23%, respectively. Separate questionnaires were used for the two categories of respondent. In some cases the questionnaire could not be completed using the telephone and a copy was then sent by post for completion.

RESULTS

Findings revealed the high utilization of agency nurses in hospitals, the limited nature of continuing education for agency nurses, tensions between matching agency nurse qualifications with acute specialty needs and the notion that agencies preferred nurses to be flexible in their work assignments.

CONCLUSIONS

The study was limited by the fact that the final sample was small (30 hospitals and six agencies), and therefore may not be representative of the wider population of Melbourne hospitals or agencies. However, it provided evidence on the utilization of agency nurses in public and private hospitals that will help shape policy on the regulation of the agency nursing workforce.