Job stress and work attitudes between temporary and permanently employed nurses

The authors examine job stress and work attitudes among temporary (i.e. fixed-term) and permanently employed nurses, using data collected via a structured questionnaire filled out by 249 nurses in two hospitals in northern Taiwan. Temporary nurses in the sample were generally younger, less experienced, unmarried, or married without children. Questionnaire responses also indicate that they suffer from greater job stress and lower affective organizational and occupational commitments compared to their permanent counterparts. A positive correlation was found between perceived contract breaches and job stress and a negative correlation was identified between perceived contract breaches and affective occupational commitment. In both cases the effects were more intense among full-time, permanently employed nurses. The paper ends with a discussion of implications for decision makers and researchers of non-standard work arrangements.