The Impact of Job Stress and State Anger on Turnover Intention Among Nurses During COVID-19: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion.

Syed Haider Ali Shah,Jiang Jindong,Ayesha Mumtaz,Nosheen Rafiq,Aftab Haider

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.810378

Syed Haider Ali Shah, Jiang Jindong + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.810378

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Abstract

Based on the social exchange theory, the aim of this study is to identify the association between job stress state anger, emotional exhaustion and job turnover intention. This study postulates that job related stress and state anger among nurses during COVID-19 subsequently leads to their job turnover intentions. In addition, the study also aims to see the mediating role of emotional exhaustion between COVID-19-related job stress, state anger, and turnover intentions. The sample of this study is gathered from 335 registered nurses working in Pakistani hospitals dealing with COVID-19-related patients. The interrelationships between variables are checked by using structural equation modeling through AMOS. Key findings confirm that COVID-19-related job stress and state anger had a significant effect on nurses’ turnover intentions. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship between COVID-19-related job stress, state anger, and turnover intentions. There is a lack of research which has assessed the impact of Novel COVID-19-related job stress and state anger on nurses’ turnover intentions in hospitals, providing empirical evidence from a developing country-Pakistan. This study offers managerial implications for hospital management and health policymakers. Moreover, nursing managers need to pay attention to nurses’ turnover intentions who are facing the issue at the front line as patients receive their initial treatment from nurses in the COVID-19 outbreak.

Highlights

The Novel Coronavirus 2019, currently referred to as COVID-19, is making rounds and has been in the limelight since the beginning of 2020 (Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemiology Working Group for NCIP Epidemic Response, 2020; World Health Organization, 2020)
This study extends the literature by examining the relationship of emotional exhaustion between job stress and job anger on turnover intentions during the pandemic of COVID19
This study provides the insights on the job turnover intentions due to stressors during emergency situations; such as COVID-19 in Hospital nurses, and provides further implications for the nursing managers and hospital management to deal with the staff during pandemics

Summary

Introduction

The Novel Coronavirus 2019, currently referred to as COVID-19, is making rounds and has been in the limelight since the beginning of 2020 (Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemiology Working Group for NCIP Epidemic Response, 2020; World Health Organization, 2020). The coronavirus has existed for many years, COVID-19 is a new strain, which. People with compromised immunity are prone to this new strain of coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic causing a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (Rehman et al, 2021). The nature of the emergency caused hundreds and thousands of health workers to be deployed to the infected areas to rescue, manage, and control the infection of COVID-19

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