An examination of nurse role overload and burnout during COVID-19 pandemic: A quantitative correlation study

Nurses manage and treat a number of different patient ailments, while providing support to all clinical and administrative staff. COVID-19 pandemic intensified demands on the role of nurses. Caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic led to role overload and burnout due to the overwhelming patient population, lack of resources, increased responsibilities, and lower staff census. Nurse burnout has been linked to decreased quality of care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. The purpose of the quantitative correlational study was to assess the relationship between nurses' perceived role overload and burnout, specifically occupational exhaustion, and loss of empathy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) provided the theoretical framework for the study as the Maslach burnout theory focuses on burnout based on occupational exhaustion, emotional strain, and coping mechanisms. A sample of 67 nurses working at a large healthcare system in Virginia participated in the study. Data were collected via an online survey comprised of a short demographic survey, items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and role overload survey. The results indicate that as role overload increased, so did organizational exhaustion as a form of burnout. The findings suggested nurses who experience a higher level of role overload may have less empathy toward their patients. Hospital administrators should plan better to have sufficient equipment on hand for the nurses and schedule their work to assure that they have respite time needed to recoup. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Reducing turnover intentions among first-year nurses: The importance of work centrality and coworker support.

Turnover among nurses has been recognized as a frequent and enduring problem in healthcare worldwide. The widespread nursing shortage has reached the level of a healthcare crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of understanding the contributing factors of nurse turnover, and more importantly how to mitigate the problem. Using cross-sectional survey data collected from 3370 newly licensed nurses working across 51 metropolitan areas within 35 U.S. states, we explore how role overload and work constraints can both diminish job satisfaction and increase turnover intentions of new nurses. Coworker support and work role centrality are identified as moderators of these relationships which show potential to mitigate these negative outcomes. This study highlights the importance of coworker support and work centrality in improving job satisfaction and subsequent turnover intentions among newly licensed nurses.

The Double-Edged Sword of Safety Training for Safety Behavior: The Critical Role of Psychological Factors during COVID-19.

Safety training (ST) is the primary means of avoiding unsafe behaviors, but it has not achieved the expected impact on improving workplace safety because of the high psychological stress it brings to workers. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) further threatens workers' psychological conditions, thereby diminishing the effectiveness of ST. However, the existing literature has mainly laid emphasis on the bright side of ST and neglected examining its impact on safety behavior (SB) from detrimental psychological factors. Drawing from the conservation of resources theory, a novel two-staged model was established to understand how these psychological factors mediate and moderate the association between ST and SB. We incorporated resource consumption (e.g., role overload (RO) and COVID-19-related task setbacks) and resource generation (e.g., psychological resilience) into the model to consider both detrimental and protective psychological factors against ST. We then implemented a time-separated, three-wave data collection on a sample of frontline workers to validate this hypothetical model. Consistent with our hypothesis, RO played a significant mediating role between ST and SB, that is, ST leads to RO, and in turn, holds up SB. Surprisingly, contrary to our hypothesis, COVID-19-related task setbacks weakened the negative and indirect impact of ST on SB via RO. This is one of the first empirical studies to highlight how detrimental psychological factors caused by ST constrict or amplify SB. In practice, the efficacy of ST can be enhanced by cultivating psychological resilience and clarifying employees' job responsibilities to reduce the ambiguity of roles.

Work-Life Conflict Among Higher Education Institution Workers' During COVID-19: A Demands-Resources Approach.

Higher Education Institutions' (HEI) workers were highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which magnified gender differences in terms of management of work and personal life. Most studies published so far have primarily focused on a group of HEI workers' (i.e., teachers and researchers), but not on staff members, despite their crucial role for HEI functioning. Following the Job Demands-Resources theory, we aimed to: (i) characterize work-life conflict (WLC) among men and women workers from an HEI (staff and teachers/researchers) during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (ii) explore the major predictors of WLC for both staff and teachers/researchers. This study includes a sample of 262 workers from one Portuguese HEI (n = 128 staff members; n = 134 teachers/researchers) who answered an online survey. An Independent Samples T-Test showed that the reported current WLC was significantly higher for teachers/researchers compared to staff. Moreover, women teachers/researchers showed higher WLC than men. Additionally, using a Repeated Measures ANOVA, we found that the increase in the reported levels of WLC (before the pandemic and currently) was significantly more prominent among teachers/researchers than in the staff group. Regarding the predictors of WLC for both groups separately, a Multiple Hierarchical Linear Regression showed that role overload, conceptualized as a demand, was a predictor for both staff and teachers/researchers. As for potential resources, work dedication negatively predicted WLC for staff, whereas family-friendly organization perceptions predicted less WLC for teachers/researchers. These results highlight the importance of understanding HEIs holistically, by considering workers' individual characteristics such as gender, but also distinct careers inside the institutions. As most European HEIs are currently making active efforts to promote gender-equal academic workplaces, these findings may help them design tailored and effective measures to address employees' work-life balance issues, not only considering gender, but also the different types of demands associated with each group of workers within HEIs.

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

The Curvilinear Relationship Between Career Calling and Work Fatigue: A Moderated Mediating Model.

Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and event system theory (EST), this study constructed a moderated mediating model to investigate the direct effect of career calling on work fatigue, the mediating effect of role overload, and the moderating effect of COVID-19 event disruption in the above relationships. We administered an online questionnaire to 488 Chinese police officers who participated in frontline work to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed a U-shaped curvilinear relationship of career calling with physical fatigue, mental fatigue, emotional fatigue, and role overload. Moreover, role overload partially mediated these curvilinear relationships. In addition, COVID-19 event disruption positively moderated the direct curvilinear effect of career calling on role overload, physical fatigue, and emotional fatigue, as well as the first stage of the mediating effect in the relationship between career calling and physical, mental, and emotional fatigue through role overload. Furthermore, the direct U-shaped curvilinear effects and the indirect effects were more significant when COVID-19 event disruption was high.

Working in lockdown: the relationship between COVID-19 induced work stressors, job performance, distress, and life satisfaction.

BACKGROUND & AIM: In the wake of COVID-19, organizations all over India have closed their premises and shifted to work from home policy to curb the further spread of the virus. This has led to increased stress and anxiety among employees, which explicably affects their satisfaction with life. Thus, the present study analyses the effect of COVID-19 induced stressors (role overload, lifestyle choices, family distraction, and occupational discomfort) on employees' distress levels and job performance. Subsequently, the impact of such distress and job performance on the employees' life satisfaction is analyzed during the lockdown period. METHODOLOGY: Data was collected from 433 working professionals of private and public organizations in the Delhi and NCR region of India during India's third and fourth phase of lockdown via a survey, which was distributed online. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was applied first to establish the validity of this study's model (measurement model validity) and subsequently test the hypothesized relationships in the model (structural model). RESULTS: The COVID-19 induced stressors, i.e., role overload, lifestyle choices, and occupational discomfort, were significant predictors of distress during the lockdown. It has been found that role overload and change in lifestyle choice did not significantly affect job performance. Family distraction, occupational discomfort, and distress were significant in impacting job performance, with distress being the most significant one. During the COVID-19 pandemic, life satisfaction has reduced due to a significant increase in distress levels and lowered job performances. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-01567-0.