The influence of emotional labor on job burnout in ICU nurses

Abstract

Objective To investigate the current status of emotional labor of ICU nurses and its influence on job burnout. Methods Totally 253 ICU nurses of three comprehensive third-grade class-A hospitals were investigated using the general information questionnaire and nurses' emotional labor scale and job burnout scale. Results The average score of emotional labor was 3.59±0.67.The scores of deep acting, expression of genuine emotion and surface acting were 4.67±0.86, 3.37±0.91 and 3.26±0.86.There was a relationship between the factors of emotional labor and job burnout.The surface acting had positive prediction effect on emotional exhaustion(β=0.317, P<0.01) and depersonalization(β=0.292, P<0.01), and negative effect on personal achievement (β=-0.144, P<0.05). Deep acting had negative predictive effect on depersonalization(β=-0.283, P<0.01) and positive prediction effect on personal accomplishment (β=0.345, P<0.01). Conclusion ICU nurses have moderate levels of emotional labor, and the deep acting score is the highest between three dimensions.The surface acting and deep acting can predict job burnout, and managers of hospital should pay attention to the education and training of emotional labor for ICU nurses. Key words: Intensive care unit; Nurses; Emotional labor; Job burnout