The impact of lack of affection and poor social ties in the nurses work environment: evidence from a Portuguese sample

Abstract

Abstract Background Significant evidence has pointed out the positive impact of caring with love. Nurses are the healthcare professionals whose love gives a self–sacrificing spirit. However, little is still know about how lack of affection and unhealthy social ties affects Nurses in the work environment. This study sought to explore the association between affection, social ties and work environment. Methods Descriptive, correlational and cross-sectional study conducted with 36 Nurses of a private hospital in a city of Porto, Portugal. The ‘Fantastic Lifestyle’ and ‘Nursing Practice Work Environment’ scales, adapted and validated to the Portuguese population, with good internal consistency and reliability, were applied. The study was conducted between February and March 2020. Statistical analyses were performed through SPSS. Results Female nurses (80.6%), single (61.1%) and with an average age of 29 years (SD = 5.15) prevailed. 94.4% almost always have someone to talk to about important matters and 88.9% report that they almost always gave and received affection. Weak social ties negatively affect the perception that doctors and nurses have a good working relationship (χ2 = 8.145; P = 0.043) and collaboration (χ2 = 8.145; P = 0.043), resulting in a depreciation of colleagues skills (χ2 = 8.603; P = 0.014). Lack of affection negatively affects the perception of doctors and nurses collaboration (χ2 = 17.708; P = 0.001), the updating of nursing care plans (χ2 = 9.267; P = 0.008) and the relevance of nursing diagnosis applicability (χ2 = 7.650; P = 0.022). Conclusions Findings encourage the need to pay attention to nurses’ affection level and social ties strengthen, once the imbalance of one of these dimensions negatively influences the quality of work environment, impacting the quality of health care provided.