Factors Related to Job Satisfaction and Autonomy as Correlates of Potential Job Retention for Rural Nurses*

This study of 167 nurses in 10 rural Georgia agencies examines the relationships among personal characteristics, factors of job satisfaction, autonomy, and job retention. The findings indicate that, contrary to expectations, personal characteristics (e.g., age, education, salary, marital status, and number of dependents) are not strong predictors of job retention in this sample. Some of the factors of job satisfaction do correlate negatively with indicators of impending job change, but the strongest relationships were those related to nursing autonomy. The study concludes that, of the variables studied, autonomy was the most effective predictor of job satisfaction and intention to remain in the current position.