A Study on Reducing Turnover of Professionals at Home Care Nursing Stations: Focusing on Work Engagement and Resources

Abstract

This study focuses on work engagement, which influences turnover intention, and clarifies the characteristics of work resources recognized by employees with high work engagement. Based on these results, issues and measures to reduce turnover are discussed. The study participants included 64 public health nurses, other nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists working at home nursing stations. The subjects were categorized into two groups: those with higher than average scores on the Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and those with lower than average scores on the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, for all subjects; those in their 30s and younger, those in their 40s and older, those with nine years or less of professional experience, those with ten years or more of professional experience, public health nurses and other nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. Participants’ perceived work resources were compared. The results of the study showed that almost all items at the work, department, and workplace levels were significantly higher among all participants with high work engagement, suggesting the need for general measures that are not focused on a specific area. In the analysis by age, all items at the work level were low among those in their 30s or younger who had low work engagement, suggesting the need for support to prevent anxiety in this respect. There was a clear difference in the comparison by years of professional experience: those with nine years or less of experience with high work engagement had high scores on the items emphasizing individual job satisfaction and sense of value, while those with ten years or more of experience had high scores on the items concerning their relationship with superiors and evaluation. In the comparison by job category, physical and occupational therapists showed significant differences in many items at the workplace level, suggesting that approval at the workplace level may affect work engagement. We believe that these points need to be considered when implementing measures against job turnover, focusing on work engagement.