The Relationship between Nurses’ Perception of Job Demand and their Satisfaction with the Work Family Balance

Background: Nurses, like other female employees, are faced with the demands of work and
home responsibilities as their main daily tasks. Attempting to understand role overload as
perceived by RNs in the acute care setting needs to be a consideration for hospital
administrators and nursing leaders as they are problem solver and develop strategic plans to
promote care quality in the acute care setting. Aim: The present study aimed to examine the
relationship between nurses’ perception of job demand and their satisfaction with the work
family balance. Setting: The study was carried out at two hospitals in Menoufia
governorate, Egypt, namely Shebin El-Kom University Hospital, and Teaching Hospital.
Sample: A total number of 160 nurses in the study units who agreed to participate in the
study from the selected study hospitals in Menoufia governorate constituted the study sample
(78 nurses from University Hospital, and 82 nurses from teaching hospital). Tool: The
following tools were used: job demand scale and Satisfaction with the work–family balance
scale. Results: The results indicated that there was a significance negative correlation
between nurses’ overall perception of job demand and their overall satisfaction with the
work–family balance. Conclusion: The study concluded that nurses' overall perception of
job demand is associated with nurses’ satisfaction with the work–family balance.
Recommendations: It’ s recommended that hospital management needs to be conscious of
this status of female nurses and provide a reasonable workload to help these women achieve
work-family balance which could be enhanced by rearranging work conditions to reduce
excessive workload and irregular work schedule.