The purposes of this study are to examine the differences in worker’s perceived job environment and burnout between profit and non-profit nursing homes, and to suggest the progressive direction to develop effective ways to improve work environments of workers at nursing home facilities.
For the purposes, 394 responses from workers at nursing home in Jeollabukdo province are analyzed through multiple regression, and the main results were as follows.
First, the mean of perceived work environment of total sample is 3.41 points(5-point scale), and the mean score of workers at non-profit nursing homes is 0.10 points higher (p<.05) than workers at profit nursing homes. The mean of burnout of total sample is 2.50 points(5-point scale), and the mean score of workers at non-profit nursing homes is 0.12 points lower (p<.01) than workers at profit nursing homes.
Second, the profit and nonprofit characteristics of nursing home have statistically significant effects on the work environment (p<.01) and burnout (p<.05) of workers, with controlling for socio-demographic of the sample.
The results implies that the degree of the perceived work environment is lower, and the degree of burnout is higher among nursing home workers, compared with other institutional worker. Further, the perceived work environment and burnout are influenced by nursing home profitability.
This study suggests the progressive direction of the nursing home as follows.
First, to improve the perceived work environment and to lower burnout of nursing home workers, the adequate financial compensation scheme for the nursing home workers should be offered, and legal standards and regulations should be established for the working conditions of the workers at nursing homes.
Second, it is necessary to strengthen systematic education and qualification management of nursing home workers to enhance the professionalism of the workers.