Testing Karasek's demands-control model in restructured healthcare settings: Effects of job strain on staff nurses' quality of work life

Background: Job strain among staff nurses has become an increasingly import ant concern in relationship to employee performance and commitment to the o rganization in current restructured healthcare settings. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test Karasek's Demands-Control Model of job strain by examining the extent to which the degree of job str ain in nursing work environments affects staff nurses' perceptions of struc tural and psychological empowerment, work satisfaction, and organizational commitment, Method: A predictive, nonexperimental design was used to test these relatio nships in a random sample of 404 Canadian staff nurses, Karasek's Job Conte nt Questionnaire, the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, Sp reitzer's Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire, Meyer and Alien's Organi zational Commitment Questionnaire, and the Global Satisfaction Scale were u sed to measure the major study variables. Results: Nurses with. higher level of job strain were found to be significa ntly more empowered, more committed to the organization, and more satisfied with their work. Conclusions: Support for Karasek's Demands/Control theory was established i n this study.