Current Status of Exercise Habits and Job Satisfaction of Nurses in Japan

Nurses’ duties have become more diversified and increasingly complex with Japan’s ultra-aging population and advancements in medical technology. Additionally, the long working hours, the enormous workload, the chronic shortage of human resources, and night shifts place a huge physical burden on nursing staff. These factors have contributed to a job turnover rate of around 11% for nurses in Japan. The rate has been around the same for the last decade. In a bid to retain highly skilled and talented employees for the long-term and to enable them to demonstrate and build on their skills, there is a need to improve job satisfaction. This study aimed to ascertain the exercise habits of nursing staff and determine how their exercise habits relate to their overall job satisfaction. Methods: A paper-based survey was conducted at a university hospital located in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The survey consisted of a face sheet and questions about respondents’ job satisfaction and exercise habits. Results: Of the total 659 respondents, 304 nurses responded that they had exercised more than once in the last year. There were 40 respondents who had exercised between 1 and 2 times in the last year, 62 respondents said between 6 and 11 times in the last year, and 16 respondents said more than twice a week, with only 5% of respondents saying that they had a regular exercise routine in place. When comparing the average job satisfaction score with exercise frequency, the group that exercised once a week had the highest job satisfaction score of 3.41(SD = 0.37). It was significantly higher than the job satisfaction score (3.19, SD = 0.41) for the group that did not exercise (p <.05).