Chapter 1 The Problem and its Background Background of the Study Compassionate, caring, service-oriented.

These are some of the common words that are used to describe a Nurse. But behind these tender words lie the many struggles that a nurse encounters in his/her everyday life. Military Nursing, a unique branch of nursing within a unique environment serving a unique clientele, further elevates the so-called struggles of a civilian nurse. But in the end, military or civilian, both are subjected to many stresses and pressures. Nurses existed since time immemorial and through the years, it has evolved and its demands have also increased. Today, in order to survive in the dynamic and challenging world of nursing, a nurse should possess a high degree of flexibility in the performance of his/her job. He / She must be equipped with full arsenal of knowledge, skills and attitude to overcome the hurdles of work which is a significant part of an individuals existence. He/she must be prepared to work in highly stressful environment and deal with sick patients which most of the time, are difficult to handle. He/ she must be able to work round the clock without lessening their effectiveness and composure because it is in their hands that the patients life lies. Despite these difficulties, many chose to take the path of nursing as their work. This decision may emanate from what an individual value in their work. Morin in 2004 stated that people tend to choose a work that is meaningful to them, one that corresponds to ones abilities, where ones talents are recognized, and that provides a salary that provides for ones needs. She further described meaningful work as one

that is useful to the society or to others. B. verko in her Journal of Vocational Behavior in 2000 said that the importance of work in an individuals life is influenced by his/her work values. There is an immense literature on work values but these theories and research precede largely from the premise that work values are derived from peoples basic value systems that help them navigate through the multiple spheres of their lives, however work values are more specific than general life values as they apply to a specific life domain, MacKenzie, 2003. Nevertheless, workers differ with regard to the reasons they have for working and the needs they want to satisfy through work. For some, a worker values a job that enables him/her to use his/her skills and judgment, to showcase his/her problem-solving creativity, and to have a voice with regard to decisions that involve him/her. Recognition is another important characteristic of a meaningful job. Furthermore, work should be performed in an environment that stimulates the development of positive professional relationships: a job that enables the worker to enjoy interesting contacts, good relationships with others, camaraderie with ones co-workers, and the ability to yield influence in ones field, Morin, 2004. However, the case is not the same for everyone. What one values more in work, the other deems it less. This prompts the researcher in his quest on what nurses, both military and civilian value in their work, what do they consider as meaningful in their work. Is it the pay, the job security, or the relationship with co-workers, the benefits, etc? It is important to know the work values of nurses because these serve as motivational forces that keep them fixed in their jobs. Knowing the values that are significant to the person

will be of great help to heighten the possibility of attaining job satisfaction, which is another significant aspect of this research. Job satisfaction is one of the most widely investigated job attitude, as well as one of the most extensively researched subjects among workers. The most widely accepted explanation of job satisfaction was presented by Locke (1976), who defined job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences. Locke further stated that job satisfaction is attained when ones values are compatible with ones needs. Job satisfaction is a very important factor of productivity and job quality, especially in health care workers. (Stankovic et.al. 2007) In MacManus et.al study in 2004, she stated that job satisfaction in health care workers has a great impact on quality, effectiveness and work efficiency and at the same time on health-care costs. Besides its importance for patients and health care system as a whole, professional satisfaction in health care workers is associated with absence from work, human relations and organisation of work. The researcher aims to know the level of job satisfaction of both military and civilian nurses because it may affect his/her behavior. Attainment of job satisfaction may cause a person to work harder, or, the opposite may occur, and he or she may work less. Job satisfaction also affects a person's general well-being for the reason that people spend a good part of the day at work. Finally, "by creating an environment that promotes job satisfaction, employees are developed to be motivated, productive and fulfilled (Syptak, Marsland, & Ulmer, 2000).

Consequently, if a person is dissatisfied with their work, this could lead to dissatisfaction in other areas of their life. If employee dissatisfaction is not addressed and continues to go on, it may eventually lead to burnout. The term "burnout" originated in the 1940s, which was used to describe when a jet engine stops operating at which the point it can no longer work. The word began to be used by humans in the 1970s, a psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger used the term to describe the status of overworked volunteers in mental health clinics. He compared the loss of idealism in these volunteers to a building--once a vital structure--that had burned out, and he defined burnout as the progressive loss of idealism, energy, and purpose experienced by people in the helping professions as a result of the condition of their work" (Freudenberger 1970 as cited in Alexander, 2009) Marshidha in her study in 2008 said that burnout happens due to several reasons some of them are work load, lack of control, unfairness, value conflict and insufficient reward. Due to prolonged stress and frustration the employees feel that their physical and emotional strengths are exhausted. This exhaustion will lead to low productivity, high employee turnover cost, and poor employee morale in an organization. As mentioned above, people in the helping professions are more prone to burnout. A study conducted by Alexander in 2009 revealed that among health care workers, burnout is higher in nurses, with approximately 40% of hospital nurses having burnout levels that are higher than other health care workers. In addition, the prevalence of burnout is higher among nurses who work in stressful settings, such as oncology, mental health, emergency and critical care.

In this case, the researcher would also like to find out the level of job burnout among military and civilian nurses. Burnout should not be treated lightly because this will burn the entire organization. If present, measures should be taken to overcome employee's burnout. Employees are the back bone of the organization and if it is broken into pieces then the organization cannot stand erect, so the employees should be considered as the key players in an the organization. With these facts presented, the researcher aims to determine the relationship between work values, job satisfaction and job burnout among military and civilian nurses in selected areas of V.Luna General Hospital.