Media Release:

Employment Survey Findings: NZNO Members Concerned with Unsafe Staffing Levels
 

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is today releasing its findings from its first-ever members employment survey.

The questionnaire, based on the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Nurse’s annual survey (which has been running for 21 years) covered core employment issues; employment agreements, hours, pay, job change, along with demographic details, as well as questions around plans for and perceptions of working life for over 800 NZNO members.

More than half the respondents felt under pressure at work and that workloads were too heavy. “...many people appear to be leaving or cutting down hours due to the workloads... some shifts we leave and think ‘at least they’re still alive!’”, commented a respondent.

“The responses clearly indicate that NZNO members are also very concerned about having a safe number of staff to meet patient needs. These concerns were held by members throughout the health sector from public hospitals to residential aged care facilities,” said, NZNO researcher  Leonie Walker.

Other patterns were also evident in the survey findings. “Primary health workers as a workforce clearly feel that they are less able than others to take time off for training, while prison nurses and mental health nurses were over represented in the group concerned with workplace bullying and harassment,” Walker said.

The number of respondents working part time (49%) was a surprise. “Because of goodwill and loyalty to their colleagues, many part time workers are prepared to work extra shifts to cover staff shortages. But if goodwill in the workplace is lost, all that extra staffing resource will also be lost,” Walker said.

One respondent commented ”Nursing is a wonderful, rewarding career but the nursing shortages create stress on existing staff leading to high turnover in some areas” Another said “I find that the job can be highly stressful, demanding and exhausting – but I derive satisfaction from my achievements and the care that I give to patients/clients”.  “Despite very many specific concerns about staffing levels and pay, overall there was sense of real positivity towards nursing as a career,” said Walker.

ENDS

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