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Regarding the differences in work characteristics and work reactions between mental health and general nurses, our hypotheses were confirmed, except for social support and job involvement. Autonomy and emotional exhaustion were higher among mental health nurses, whereas their job involvement proved to be significantly lower. Emotional exhaustion was primarily predicted by workload and lack of social support. Contrary to our expectations, the relationship between autonomy and job involvement was not significant in both samples. Finally, we found that the proposed pattern of relationships appeared to be invariant across the two samples.

This article describes a quantitative, correlational study of the relationship between organizational aspects (such as the predictability of the care), work characteristics (autonomy and workload) and work reactions (work satisfaction and health complaints) in nursing work. The variables have been measured by questionnaires. Subjects were 155 nurses from nine units in two general hospitals in the Netherlands. Several organizational aspects seem to be correlated with work characteristics and work reactions. Organizational aspects particularly influence work characteristics and play, therefore, a mediating role in the relationship between organizational aspects and work reactions. Job satisfaction is not only correlated with the autonomy, but also with workload. Health complaints appeared to be mainly correlated with the workload. It is concluded that for an improvement of job satisfaction and reduction of health complaints, it is not only necessary to improve autonomy and reduce workload, but also to pay attention to organizational aspects because these may influence the work characteristics.

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