Work-related stress and wellbeing among nurses: Testing a multi-dimensional model

Life satisfaction and job and personal resources among public workers with non-standard work schedules

BACKGROUND

While the link between non-standard work schedules and poor health outcomes is established, few studies have examined how resources both in and outside of work can support the well-being of workers with non-standard work schedules.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional survey, we assessed the association between one facet of well-being, life satisfaction, and job and personal resources. In 2019, an electronic survey was administered to two unionized, public service populations who work non-standard work schedules: transportation maintainers and correctional supervisors. We assessed life satisfaction with a 10-item scale; a broad set of job resources (reward satisfaction, supervisor support, co-worker support, schedule satisfaction, and working hours fit); and a broad set of personal resources (health status, sleep, physical activity, and finances). We used log-binomial regression models to estimate prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals among statistically significant univariate predictors.

RESULTS

Of the 316 workers surveyed, the majority were male (86%), White (68%), and reported positive life satisfaction (56%). In multivariate models, the prevalence of positive life satisfaction was higher in workers reporting reward satisfaction (PR:1.35, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.65; p = 0.003), good work schedule fit (PR:1.43, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.83; p = 0.004), good health (PR:2.92, 95% CI: 1.70, 4.99; p < 0.0001), and good finances (PR:1.32, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.72; p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Employers should consider increasing work recognition, as well as improving schedule fit, financial well-being, and overall good health in support of worker life satisfaction and ultimately well-being.

Stress, interpersonal and inter-role conflicts, and psychological health conditions among nurses: vicious and virtuous circles within and beyond the wards

BACKGROUND

The increasing costs of nurses' occupational-stress, conflicts, and violence within healthcare services have raised international interest. Yet, research/interventions should consider that perceived stress and conflicts- but also potential resources- within the wards can crossover the healthcare settings, impacting nurses' private lives and viceversa, potentially creating vicious circles exacerbating stress, conflicts/violence or, conversely, virtuous circles of psychological/relational wellbeing. Based on the Demands-Resources-and-Individual-Effects (DRIVE) Nurses Model, and responding to the need to go in-depth into this complex dynamic, this study aims to explore potential vicious circles featured by the negative effects of the interplay (main/mediating effects) between perceived stressors in nursing linked to interpersonal conflicts (Conflicts-with-Physicians, Peers, Supervisors, Patients/their families), work-family inter-role conflicts (Work-Family/Family-Work-Conflicts), and work-related stress (Effort-Reward-Imbalance) on nurses' psychological/relational health (Anxiety, Depression, Somatization, Interpersonal-Sensitivity, Hostility). The potential moderating role of work-resources (Job-Control, Social-Support, Job-Satisfaction) in breaking vicious circles/promoting virtuous circles was also explored.

METHOD

The STROBE Checklist was used to report this cross-sectional multi-centre study. Overall, 265 nurses completed self-report questionnaires. Main/mediating/moderating hypotheses were tested by using Correlational-Analyses and Hayes-PROCESS-tool.

RESULTS

Data confirmed the hypothesized detrimental vicious circles (main/mediating effects), impairing nurses' psychological health conditions at individual level (Anxiety, Depression, Somatization), but also at relational level (Hostility and Interpersonal-Sensitivity). The moderating role of all work resources was fully supported.

CONCLUSION

Findings could be used to implement interventions/practices to effectively prevent the maintenance/exacerbation of vicious circles and promote psychological/relational wellbeing in healthcare settings and beyond.

How job demands and job resources contribute to our overall subjective well-being

Objectives

How the work environment contributes to employees' overall subjective well-being remains inadequately explored. Building upon the seminal Job Demands-Resources model, this study aims to test a complex model that combines leadership, job demands, and job resources, as factors contributing either indirectly (via job satisfaction) or directly to employees' subjective well-being (SWB).

Methods

The cross-sectional data (N = 1,859) of the Belgian National happiness study (2020) were used. Leadership (satisfaction with leadership; perceived supervisor support), job demands (role conflict; job insecurity; work-private conflict; perceived working conditions), job resources (autonomy; relatedness; competence; skill utilization; personal growth), job satisfaction and subjective well-being (life evaluation; positive affect; negative affect) were assessed via self-report questionnaires. The proposed model investigates the direct impact of job demands and resources on SWB, as well as the indirect impact with job satisfaction as mediating factor, and was tested using the Structural Equation Modeling technique.

Results

Findings supported the proposed model. Both job demands and job resources have a direct relationship with SWB. Job resources are positively related to overall SWB, whereas job demands negatively affected SWB. Moreover, job resources are more strongly related to SWB compared to job demands. The demands and resources also indirectly contribute to employee's SWB via job satisfaction as job satisfaction appeared to mediate these relationships.

Conclusion

The current study shows that both job demands and resources directly and indirectly contribute to employees' SWB. Creating a supportive and healthy work environment is thus of paramount importance in order to foster employees' SWB. In particular, investing in improving job resources may be a fruitful approach to promote employees' overall subjective well-being.

Profiling health professionals' personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Non-cognitive traits have been theorised to predict characteristics, career choice and outcomes of health professionals and could represent a homogenous group. This study aims to profile and compare personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence of health practitioners across a variety of professions.

METHODS

Empirical literature was systematically reviewed. A two-concept search strategy was applied to four databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Embase, ProQuest). Title/abstract and full text articles were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Methodological quality was assessed using Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Data was synthesised narratively and meta-aggregated where feasible.

RESULTS

Three hundred twenty-one studies representing 153 assessment tools of personality (n = 83 studies), behaviour (n = 8), and emotional intelligence (n = 62) were included. Most studies (n = 171) explored personality (medicine, nursing, nursing assistants, dentistry, allied health, paramedics), revealing variation in traits across professions. Behaviour styles were least measured with only ten studies exploring these across four health professions (nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, psychology). Emotional intelligence (n = 146 studies) varied amongst professions (medicine, nursing, dentistry, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiology) with all exhibiting average to above-average scores.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits, behaviour styles and emotional intelligence are all key characteristics of health professionals reported in the literature. There is both heterogeneity and homogeneity within and between professional groups. The characterisation and understanding of these non-cognitive traits will aid health professionals to understand their own non-cognitive features and how these might be useful in predicting performance with potential to adapt these to enhance success within their chosen profession.

Well-Being of Israeli Nurse Practitioners During Times of Crisis: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction

For healthcare workers, good work-related well-being positively affects enthusiasm, efficiency, and job satisfaction. Conversely, poor well-being is associated with burnout and negative patient outcomes. During times of crises, it is difficult to balance professional responsibilities with well-being.

Objective

This study aimed to evaluate the degree of well-being among nurse practitioners in Israel who worked in COVID-19 units or allied units during the delta wave.

Methods

This was a web-based, cross-sectional study. Nurse practitioners who worked within the COVID-19 units in Israeli hospitals were asked to complete several questionnaires: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Subjective Happiness Scale, the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression.

Results

Forty-nine nurse practitioners participated in the survey. Scores from the Subjective Happiness Scale and the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form indicate that most nurses have relatively positive mental health. Conversely, scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies indicated that participants are at risk for clinical depression. There was a positive moderate association between the number of years worked as a nurse practitioner and depression and a moderate negative association between the number of years worked as a nurse practitioner and happiness.

Conclusions

Understanding how nurses' mental health is impacted during crises can provide healthcare systems with tools to prevent negative outcomes. This, in turn, may contribute to a lower burnout rate, higher satisfaction from work, and better patient outcomes.

Work conditions as predictors of Swedish occupational therapists' occupational balance

BACKGROUND

There is little knowledge of how organizational and social work environmental conditions impact workers' perceptions of occupational balance. The aim of the present study was to investigate organizational and social work environmental conditions as predictors of Swedish occupational therapists' perceptions of occupational balance.

MATERIALS/METHODS

This prospective study collected data twice, with a one-year interval, and used a web survey. The present study included 1835 participants. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the work predictors of occupational balance.

RESULTS

A reasonable workload, high control, and high reward predicted high occupational balance. Having no children living at home, a satisfactory financial situation, and being physically active also predicted high occupational balance.

CONCLUSION

A reasonable workload, high control and high reward predicted occupational balance among the occupational therapists. All these factors may be of importance for a sustainable working life for occupational therapists.

SIGNIFICANCE

This knowledge can support occupational therapists in the development of interventions at the work place, with focus on the workload and the resources (control and reward), to promote employees' occupational balance.

A study on the correlation between work stressors and the coping styles of outpatients and emergency nurses in 29 pediatric specialty hospitals across China

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to better understand the current situation involving work stressors and the coping styles of outpatient and emergency nurses in 29 pediatric specialty hospitals across China. The study analyzed this correlation to provide a reference for the occupational stress management of pediatric nurses.

METHODS

From June to September 2020, 1,457 outpatient and emergency nurses in 29 pediatric specialty hospitals across China were selected as study participants, and a questionnaire survey was conducted using the Basic Information Questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Work Stressor Scale for Nurses, and the Simple Coping Style Scale.

RESULTS

The assessed stress level of outpatient and emergency nurses in 29 tertiary pediatric specialty hospitals nationwide is lower than the results of the survey of the 2007 domestic norm, p < 0.05. The stressors related to nurses' expectations, family conflicts, the nature of nursing work, patient factors, and workload were lower compared with the national norm (p < 0.05). The positive coping style score on the Simple Coping Style Scale for pediatric outpatient nurses was (36.66 ± 6.16), and work stressors were positively associated with negative coping styles (p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that the influencing factors of work stressors among pediatric outpatient and emergency nurses correlated with the authorized size, age, working years of nurses, work department, and negative coping styles.

CONCLUSION

Negative coping styles were present among pediatric outpatient and emergency nurses and were associated with work stressors. The influencing factors of stressors mainly correlated with the clinical establishment, age, years of employment as a nurse, work department, and negative coping styles.

Towards a New Conceptual Model for Nurses' Organizational Well-being: An Integrative Review

AIM

To summarize conceptual models of nurses' organizational well-being and identify common variables among them.

BACKGROUND

To understand how the characteristics of an organizational context affect workers' well-being, numerous conceptual models have been developed. Such models have been conceptualized in various working contexts other than healthcare, and not always considering the particularities of the profession of nursing. Evaluation This integrative review was conducted using the resources of PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and the Cochrane Library, up until March 2022, and by applying a modified version of Cooper's five-stage methodology, in accordance with the PRISMA guideline. Key issues Six reference models focused on different organizational variables and used to evaluate nurses' organizational well-being were identified: the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model, the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the Utriainen et al. model, the Demands-Resources and Individual-Effects (DRIVE) model, the Well-Being, Health-Promoting Lifestyle and Work Environment Satisfaction (WHS) model, and the Nursing Worklife Model (NWM).

CONCLUSION

There is no consensus in the nursing literature on an all-encompassing conceptual model of nurses' organizational well-being, or on working environment characteristics to be studied or monitored for defining nurses' well-being.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Coming to a consensus on the definition of a nurses' organizational well-being model and its variables would facilitate nursing management in monitoring and intervening on nurses' work-life quality, and in improving nursing performance and caring outcomes.

Effects of role overload, work engagement and perceived organisational support on nurses' job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims

We aim to study the effect of role overload, work engagement and perceived organisational support on nurses' job performance, including task performance, interpersonal facilitation and job dedication.

Background

Many nurses have suffered from role overload at work during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, the investigations of the influence mechanisms and boundary conditions through and under which role overload is associated with job performance have shown inconsistent results.

Methods

A total of 595 Chinese nurses were studied from November 2020 to February 2021. Confirmatory factor analysis, maximum likelihood estimation and bootstrapping analysis were used to test the mediating process and the moderating effect.

Results

Work engagement partly mediated the relationships of role overload with task performance (β = −.253, p < .001, 95% CI: [−.315, −.204]) and interpersonal facilitation (β = −.202, p < .001, 95% CI: [−.261, −.145]); work engagement also fully mediated the relationship between role overload and job dedication (β = −.239, p < .001, 95% CI: [−.302, −.186]). Perceived organisational support moderated the relationships of role overload with task performance, interpersonal facilitation and work dedication (β = −.171, p < .001, β = −.154, p < .001 and β = −.175, p < .001, respectively).

Conclusions

Work engagement is the linchpin linking role overload to distal outcomes of job performance. Perceived organisational support mitigates the ways in which role overload undermines job performance.

Implications for Nursing Management

Hospital administrators can minimize the effects of role overload and create a more supportive organisational environment to promote the job performance of nurses.

Nurses experience of caring for patients with COVID-19: A phenomenological study

INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 has impacted all dimensions of life and imposed serious threat on humankind.

BACKGROUND

In Jordan, understanding how nurses experienced providing care for patients with COVID-19 offers a framework of knowledge about similar situations within the context of Arabic culture.

AIM

To explore nurses' experience with providing hands-on care to patients with active COVID-19 infection in an Arabic society.

METHODS

A descriptive phenomenological study interviewed 10 nurses through a purposive sampling approach until data saturation was reached. The research site was hospital designated to receive patients with active COVID-19 infection. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data.

FINDINGS

Three themes were generated from the data: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on nurses' health; unfamiliar work and social environments; and conforming to professional standards.

DISCUSSION

There are specific risks to the physical and mental wellbeing of nurses who provide hands-on care to patients with COVID-19 in an Arabic society.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Health care institutions should consider establishing programs that promote nurses' wellbeing and support their productivity in a crisis. A danger pay allowance should be considered for nurses during extraordinary circumstances, such as pandemics.

The Effect of Work-Family Conflict on Occupational Well-Being Among Primary and Secondary School Teachers: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

In this study, 223 primary and secondary school teachers in Shandong province were selected to examine the effect of work-family conflict on occupational well-being, using the questionnaire of work-family conflict, occupational well-being and psychological capital as measuring instruments. We further explored the mediating role of psychological capital between work-family conflict and occupational well-being. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS20.0, AMOS16.0 and M-plus 7.0. Results revealed that (1) Work-family conflict was negatively correlated with the occupational well-being and psychological capital of primary and secondary school teachers, and negatively predicted occupational well-being and psychological capital of primary and secondary school teachers; (2) Psychological capital had a significant positive correlation with the occupational well-being of primary and secondary school teachers, and significantly predicted the occupational well-being of primary and secondary school teachers; (3) Psychological capital of primary and secondary school teachers played a mediating role in work-family conflict and occupational well-being.