The Associations among Destructive Leadership, Job Demands and Resources, and Burnout among Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background. Nurses demonstrate high burnout prevalence. Moreover, destructive leadership, as well as job demands and resources, are associated with burnout. However, these associations, particularly in the context of nursing, warrant further investigation. Objective. To explore the associations of destructive leadership, as well as job demands and resources, with burnout in registered nurses. Design. A cross-sectional survey. Participants. 2115 registered nurses in Finland. Methods. The self-administered questionnaire survey was distributed nationwide to 106,000 members of the Finnish trade union for health and social care professionals via an online newsletter in February 2023. Nurses’ burnout was measured with the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT). The data were analysed through descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. Results. Destructive leadership and job demands were positively associated with burnout (β = 0.39 and 0.32, respectively; both p<0.001), whereas job resources and burnout were negatively associated (β = −0.41, p<0.001). The associations of destructive leadership and job demands with burnout became less positive when job resources were added to the regression model (β = 0.21 and 0.14, respectively; both p<0.001). Conclusions. Job resources led to the greatest reduction in burnout among registered nurses. Moreover, job resources reduced burnout by diminishing the negative effects of destructive leadership and job demands. Providing a sufficient amount of job resources might reduce burnout and diminish the negative effects of destructive leadership and job demands among nurses. These relationships warrant examination in other cultural settings.