Abstract
Dialysis nurses face complex and demanding working conditions. Due to demographic changes, the number of dialysis patients has increased, while the number of skilled personnel is expected to decrease, leading to tremendous increases in quantitative demands in the near future. Against the background of increasing workload, focusing on the provision of job resources is considered a promising approach because resources can buffer the negative effects of job demands. The aim of this study is to investigate whether different job resources—in particular influence at work and feedback—play a buffering role in the relationship between job demands and employee well-being. The study used a cross-sectional paper–pencil survey design. Data were collected from 951 dialysis nurses working in dialysis facilities in Germany between October 2010 and March 2012 using validated measures of quantitative job demands, job-related resources (influence at work and feedback), and cognitive stress symptoms. To test the moderating role of resources, we applied hierarchical regression analyses. The findings indicate that feedback buffers the relationship between quantitative demands and well-being; that is, the positive relationship between quantitative demands and cognitive stress symptoms was weaker when feedback was high. However, we found no buffering role of influence at work. The results suggest that feedback is a promising resource that may buffer the negative impact of quantitative demands on well-being of dialysis nurses. The findings offer new approaches for training nurses and implementing a feedback culture.
Highlights
Nurses working in dialysis units face complex and demanding working conditions
Based on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model, the present study focuses on job control, operationalized through influence at work and comprising employees’ influence on their tasks and the conditions under which they perform their tasks, as well as feedback, as two different resources that are assumed to be relevant work characteristics in dialysis settings
The findings of the present study suggest that providing resources, especially feedback, may be an important complementary approach that organizations should consider to attenuate the negative impact of job demands on employee well-being
Summary
Nurses working in dialysis units face complex and demanding working conditions. Dialysis nurses experience high levels of pressure and stress [5,10,11,12,13]. Dialysis nurses perceive that they lack time for patient care [7]. A parallel development is that at the same time the number of dialysis patients has increased due to an increased life expectancy and that we observe an increasing shortage of skilled nurses [10,14,15].
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