Factors influencing the quality of work life of nurse educators teaching at South African universities

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the quality of work-life (QWL) of nurse educators at South African universities. The objectives of the research was to describe the demography, home, and work factors of these nurse educators, and its effect on their experience of QWL. It also entailed triangulation of these experiences with the perceptions of the heads of nursing departments (HODs) for a thorough understanding, and designing guidelines to address the situation. A mixed methods methodology was followed, with a partly mixed sequential equal status sampling design and equal weight to the first quantitative and second qualitative phases. The population for the first phase was all the nurse educators teaching at South African universities, who on invitation completed an electronic questionnaire. The data obtained was analysed by utilising both descriptive and inferential statistics. The population for the second phase was all the HODs of the nursing departments of the 22 South African universities. The qualitative data obtained in the second phase was analysed with the Atlas.ti 8 program. The results of the study indicate that nurse educators’ QWL is influenced by meso, macro and micro environmental factors, with work, home and individual situations that are contextual to the African and specifically South African positioning on the globe. A conceptual framework improving on Easton and Van Laar ‘s (2007) model are v proposed for the African higher education edcuation (HEI) context, to better understand these influences. Recommendations to address the situation include: • Mitigation of international, national and provinical influences through attention to curriculisation and improved governance and funding • Strengthening the structure across the HEIs by improved governance, consideration of salaries and benefits of all staff to be fair and equal, investing in good technology for better output, developing methods to distribute the workload fairly, and support to staff for research • Support of nursing departmental output by addressing the needs of HODs, line managers, the nurse educators themselves, supportive staff and students, with the focus on personal and individual factors that influence physical, mental and social health, inclusive of the support of family life The developed guidelines flows from application of industrial psychological principles to propose improving both the QWL and symbiotically, the output for HEI nursing departments.