Experiences of newly employed professional nurses regarding their quality of work life at a private hospital in Gauteng

Background: Newly employed professional nurses expect decent working environments with supporting colleagues. However, they are sometimes dissatisfied with the conditions they are faced with when entering a new working environment. Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of newly employed professional nurses regarding their quality of work life. Methodology: This study utilised a qualitative design with a purposive sampling method to explore and describe how newly employed professional nurses experienced their quality of work life at a private hospital in Gauteng. Individual, in-depth, semi- structured interviews were conducted. During the interviews the following question was posed: Tell me about your experiences regarding the quality of work life as a newly employed professional nurse at this private hospital? After eleven interviews data saturation were reached. Data were analysed according to Tesch’ method. Results: Four themes emerged with their relevant sub-themes which captured positive and negative experience regarding the quality of work life of the newly employed professional nurses’ work life. The positive experiences were described as accepted by supportive colleagues, teamwork, and supportive management practices. The negative emotional experiences they described as feelings of demotivation, stress, and frustration with some work organisational aspects. Conclusions: The findings suggest that employers should reinforce the sustainability of the positive experiences and implement corrective actions that will address the negative experiences to assist newly employed nurses to transition smoothly into the organisation.