Daily associations between sleep and stressors in nurses with and without children

Uneven distribution of stressful working conditions among Japanese nurses: a secondary analysis of nurses with and without children

Supportive measures for employees raising children may have increased workloads on other nurses, causing psychological stress. This study aimed to clarify the differences in working conditions and psychological status among female Japanese nurses based on child-rearing attributes. We used data from 1,600 female nurses at 10 Japanese hospitals collected by the study of the Work Environment for Hospital Nurses in Japan conducted in 2016. The variables included work conditions (number of night shifts per month, daily overtime, number of paid holidays per year, and social support received), psychological status (sense of coherence, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement), and sociodemographic characteristics. An analysis of covariance was performed on the differences between the three groups (without children, with preschool-age children, and with children of other ages groups). The group without children had a relatively higher workload (p<0.01) and lower social support (p<0.01 and p<0.05). Additionally, they had higher emotional exhaustion and lower work engagement (p<0.01). This study confirmed the uneven distribution of work environment by work-life balance measures.

Work stress in nurses returning to tertiary a general hospitals in China after the delivery of their second child: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the current situation of work stress in nurses returning to work in Chinese tertiary A general hospitals after giving birth to their second child and to analyze influencing factors.

METHODS

From January to April 2021, 448 nurses returning to work after the birth of their second child, working in 23 general hospitals in China, were investigated and completed the postpartum work stress scale and self-rating depression scale.

RESULTS

The total work stress score of returning nurses after giving birth to their second child was 90.40 ± 18.29, and the dimension with the highest score was the role commitment of the mother. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that family monthly income, turnover intention, time since returning to work, age of the first child, and depressive symptoms were the influencing factors on work stress.

CONCLUSION

It is important to reduce the work stress of the nurses returning to work after the birth of their second child. Nursing managers should pay attention to this group of postpartum nurses and formulate targeted measures to alleviate their work stress.