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Association of 12 h shifts and nurses’ job satisfaction, burnout and intention to leave: findings from a cross-sectional study of 12 European countries

Association of 12 h shifts and nurses’ job satisfaction, burnout and intention to leave: findings from a cross-sectional study of 12 European countries
Association of 12 h shifts and nurses’ job satisfaction, burnout and intention to leave: findings from a cross-sectional study of 12 European countries
Objectives 12 h shifts are becoming increasingly common for hospital nurses but there is concern that long shifts adversely affect nurses’ well-being, job satisfaction and intention to leave their job. The aim of this study is to examine the association between working long shifts and burnout, job dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with work schedule flexibility and intention to leave current job among hospital nurses.

Methods Cross-sectional survey of 31 627 registered nurses in 2170 general medical/surgical units within 488 hospitals across 12 European countries.

Results Nurses working shifts of ≥12 h were more likely than nurses working shorter hours (≤8) to experience burnout, in terms of emotional exhaustion (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.26; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.46), depersonalisation (aOR=1.21; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.47) and low personal accomplishment (aOR=1.39; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.62). Nurses working shifts of ≥12 h were more likely to experience job dissatisfaction (aOR=1.40; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.62), dissatisfaction with work schedule flexibility (aOR=1.15; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.35) and report intention to leave their job due to dissatisfaction (aOR=1.29; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48).

Conclusions Longer working hours for hospital nurses are associated with adverse outcomes for nurses. Some of these adverse outcomes, such as high burnout, may pose safety risks for patients as well as nurses.
shift length, shift work, nursing administration research, human resources management
1-8
Dall'ora, Chiara
4501b172-005c-4fad-86da-2d63978ffdfd
Griffiths, Peter
ac7afec1-7d72-4b83-b016-3a43e245265b
Ball, Jane
85ac7d7a-b21e-42fd-858b-78d263c559c1
Simon, Michael
40c7fa62-277a-469d-993e-6be6c6714896
Aiken, Linda H.
6110096b-bab9-41a7-89f4-d7043011d6d9
Dall'ora, Chiara
4501b172-005c-4fad-86da-2d63978ffdfd
Griffiths, Peter
ac7afec1-7d72-4b83-b016-3a43e245265b
Ball, Jane
85ac7d7a-b21e-42fd-858b-78d263c559c1
Simon, Michael
40c7fa62-277a-469d-993e-6be6c6714896
Aiken, Linda H.
6110096b-bab9-41a7-89f4-d7043011d6d9

Dall'ora, Chiara, Griffiths, Peter, Ball, Jane, Simon, Michael and Aiken, Linda H. (2015) Association of 12 h shifts and nurses’ job satisfaction, burnout and intention to leave: findings from a cross-sectional study of 12 European countries. BMJ Open, 5 (9), 1-8. (doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008331). (PMID:26359284)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objectives 12 h shifts are becoming increasingly common for hospital nurses but there is concern that long shifts adversely affect nurses’ well-being, job satisfaction and intention to leave their job. The aim of this study is to examine the association between working long shifts and burnout, job dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with work schedule flexibility and intention to leave current job among hospital nurses.

Methods Cross-sectional survey of 31 627 registered nurses in 2170 general medical/surgical units within 488 hospitals across 12 European countries.

Results Nurses working shifts of ≥12 h were more likely than nurses working shorter hours (≤8) to experience burnout, in terms of emotional exhaustion (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.26; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.46), depersonalisation (aOR=1.21; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.47) and low personal accomplishment (aOR=1.39; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.62). Nurses working shifts of ≥12 h were more likely to experience job dissatisfaction (aOR=1.40; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.62), dissatisfaction with work schedule flexibility (aOR=1.15; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.35) and report intention to leave their job due to dissatisfaction (aOR=1.29; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48).

Conclusions Longer working hours for hospital nurses are associated with adverse outcomes for nurses. Some of these adverse outcomes, such as high burnout, may pose safety risks for patients as well as nurses.

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Accepted/In Press date: 30 June 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 August 2015
Published date: 10 September 2015
Keywords: shift length, shift work, nursing administration research, human resources management
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences, Centre for Innovation & Leadership

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381129
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381129
PURE UUID: bcb983e8-a6cc-4181-9787-f532623ba1b4
ORCID for Chiara Dall'ora: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6858-3535
ORCID for Peter Griffiths: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2439-2857
ORCID for Jane Ball: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8655-2994

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Date deposited: 01 Sep 2015 15:30
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:00

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Contributors

Author: Chiara Dall'ora ORCID iD
Author: Peter Griffiths ORCID iD
Author: Jane Ball ORCID iD
Author: Michael Simon
Author: Linda H. Aiken

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