Public Servant Lifestyle

The majority of National Health Service (NHS) staff have higher levels of job satisfaction than their equivalents in the private sector, according to the largest-ever survey of NHS staff.

Despite working more extra hours than most UK workers, NHS staff are satisfied with their jobs, according to the national survey, which has been published by independent watchdog, the Commission for Health Improvement(CHI).

Over 200,000 NHS employees have told CHI what it is like to work for the NHS in what is thought to be the world’s largest workforce survey. The results will inform trusts about their staffs’ views on working conditions.

Comparison

This is the first time trusts will be able to compare themselves to other, similar NHS organisations. The information will also be used by CHI and the new Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) in future inspections and in the formulation of trusts’ star ratings in 2004.

Key findings of the survey include:

73% of staff said that they were generally satisfied with their jobs - compared to 68% of manufacturing staff surveyed recently by CEP Corporate Performance Project - and 63% thought their employer had a positive attitude towards providing a good work life balance for staff

89% of staff had received some form of training or development in the previous 12 months. 76% had spent at least a day on taught courses provided, or paid for, by their employer

15% of respondents reported experiencing physical violence at work in the previous year, usually from patients/clients or their relatives

37% of staff had experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work in the previous 12 months – 28% from patients/clients or their relatives, 7% from their manager/supervisor and 11% from colleagues

60% reported having an appraisal in the previous 12 months; 36% of them reported that the appraisal was well structured, that is, staff felt clear work objectives and ideas for improvement had been discussed, and they felt their employer valued their work

22% of staff reported some injury or illness in the previous year as a result of moving and handling; needle and sharps injuries; slips, trips or falls; or exposure to dangerous substances; 39% reported suffering from work-related stress in the previous year

60% of staff had received some health and safety training from their employer within the previous 12 months

47% of staff reported having seen at least one error that could have hurt either staff or patients in the previous month; 34% had seen and error that could have hurt patients, and 36% had seen an error that could have hurt staff

Aston Business School (ABS) in Birmingham was responsible for devising the questionnaires - set up a special call centre to handle a deluge of calls from the survey's recipients. The survey results will tell Trusts about their staffs' views on their working conditions.

ABS' Professor Mike West was chosen to lead the research because of his experience in working with the NHS, has found that good staff management is associated with better outcomes for patients. He said: “This major initiative by CHI will provide extremely important information about the functioning of the NHS Trust and will enable ABS to provide clear direction for effective development of NHS Trusts to provide better patient care.'

Supervision

The survey covered topics including team working, work/life balance, errors and incidents and leadership and supervision.

Jocelyn Cornwell, CHI's acting chief executive, said: “CHI's NHS workforce survey is the first to be organised on a nationwide basis. We want staff to tell us about the health of the NHS. Information about staffing and staff morale is critically important to good quality healthcare and healthy organisations are more successful in recruiting and keeping staff.” The survey will replace Trusts' own annual staff surveys and the CHI clinical governance review staff surveys. Having just one survey is designed to reduce the administrative burden on NHS staff.

Karen Jennings, head of health at UNISON said: "This survey gives a valuable insight into working life in the NHS. It demonstrates CHI's commitment to improving patient care and its concern for the working conditions and morale of staff responsible for delivering the service.

Dedication & Commitment

"The report also provides evidence of the dedication and commitment of NHS workers, despite the workload, pressure and stress they are under. It is heartening to note that, although staff feel under pressure because of the workload, we see high levels of support from their supervisors, often under difficult circumstances.

Acting Chief Executive Jocelyn Cornwell said: "There is clear evidence of connections between how staff are managed, how they feel about their work and the outcomes for patients.

"The staff survey has produced results which are both interesting and useful. More needs to be done to ensure NHS staff are provided with an appropriate work/life balance even though most staff report that they are happy in their jobs.

"It is encouraging to see that the NHS is investing in its staff by providing so many with training and development. However, it is concerning that almost 1 in 6 staff have experienced physical violence at work. Although this unfortunate statistic is comparable to other North European health care providers, more needs to be done to ensure staff can go about their work without the fear of being attacked."

Impressive

NHS Chief Executive Sir Nigel Crisp said: "This survey is impressive. It shows the commitment and passion that NHS people bring to their jobs. It shows just how much effort they are putting into improving the health service. They deserve our thanks and our support.

"The NHS is only as good as its staff. It is vitally important that our workforce are properly trained, protected and supported so they can give the best possible care to patients. This is what we are working to do. We have a big increase in staff year on year. We have good training and development programmes, and we have a zero tolerance approach to violence against staff."

See also on Lifestyle:

Paid Less, But Happier - 26% of women, against just 18% of men, are happy at work, finds survey.

View the main findings of the survey here.

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More information available in Work Life Balance