Turnover, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in the United States: Role of Job Characteristics and Personality

Abstract

This study, designed to identify the determinants of job satisfaction, employee burnout, and turnover intentions, was based on data derived from a survey of members of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) who were active Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). The relationships explored, using structural equation models, were job satisfaction as a function of job characteristics and personality factors; employee burnout as a function of job characteristics, personality factors, and demographic characteristics; and turnover as a function of job satisfaction and burnout. Job satisfaction was positively associated with the job characteristic autonomy and the personality factor agreeableness. Employee burnout was negatively associated with the job characteristics autonomy and skill variety, and with the personality factors agreeableness, stability, and openness; it was positively associated with hours worked per week. Turnover intentions were negatively associated with job satisfaction and positively associated with burnout. The results suggest that employers should structure CRNA jobs to feature greater skill variety and greater autonomy, which should result in higher job satisfaction, less burnout, and lower turnover intentions.

Keywords: Autonomy; Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist; burnout; job satisfaction; turnover.