Abstract
The majority of studies to date have focused on the effects of work stress in the nursing environment, with the effect of personal stress in nursing being less explored. This study sought to determine whether personal stress is a more significant predictor of burnout, job satisfaction and general health than work stress. Of the 1200 nurses randomly selected to participate in the study, 895 agreed to complete six questionnaires over 3 weeks. Data was analysed using hierarchical multiple linear regression. Findings revealed that personal stress is a better predictor of burnout and general health than job satisfaction, which is better predicted by work stress. The findings of this study could inform potential solutions to reduce the impact of personal and work stress on burnout, job satisfaction and general health. Coping strategies and staffing strategies need to be evaluated within developing contexts such as South Africa to as certain their effectiveness.
Highlights
Nursing is one of the most stressful professions owing to the emotional nature of patient demands, long working hours and inter-professional as well as interpersonal conflicts
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of personal stress on burnout, job satisfaction and general health of nurses
Results revealed that 86% of nurses experienced personal stress related to financial strain, 58% experienced high levels of work stress related to staff issues, 65% experienced high levels of burnout related to lack of personal accomplishment, 66% experienced low job satisfaction related to pay and 60% experienced poor general health related to anxiety and insomnia
Summary
Nursing is one of the most stressful professions owing to the emotional nature of patient demands, long working hours and inter-professional as well as interpersonal conflicts. In South Africa, healthsagesondheid 2 2 ( 2 0 1 7 ) 2 5 2 e2 5 8 there has been a recent transition in health care from hospital based services to primary and community based services within the public and private sector. This exacerbates stress among nurses who are responsible for larger populations (Koen, Van Eeden, & Wissing, 2011). Nurses consistently report higher stress compared to other health professionals (Williams & Smith, 2013) This affects job satisfaction while invoking feelings of inadequacy which can lead to burnout and compromised wellbeing of nurses. Such effects have implications for productivity and performance (Najimi, Goudarzi, & Sharifirad, 2012)
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