Occupational stress and job satisfaction in mental health nursing: focused interventions through evidence-based assessment

In the UK, over 20 contemporaneous reports have shown that between one-quarter and one-half of National Health Service (NHS) staff report significant personal distress (Weinberg & Creed 2000). There exists a substantial body of evidence to suggest that high levels of stress are endemic throughout the NHS (Anderson et al. 1996), and that many of these stressors may be unique to health care (Payne & Firth-Cozens 1987, Calboun & Calboun 1993). Historically, responsibility for stress management has often been placed at the feet of the employee (Sutherland & Cooper, 2000). This individual orientation has lead to the development of practices designed to treat those exhibiting symptoms of stress, and a relative paucity of interventions oriented to the prevention and the management of workplace stressors. It can also serve to deter scrutiny of injurious workplace conditions, practices and procedures. This small-scale study examines stress and job satisfaction in community mental health nurses in a semirural area of North Wales. Based on self-report questionnaire feedback, focused interventions are described to enhance work satisfaction and help ameliorate occupational stressors. Interventions are described at the level of the individual, the team and the organization as a whole.