Shift work characteristics and burnout among nurses: cross-sectional survey
Shift work characteristics and burnout among nurses: cross-sectional survey
Background: nurses working long shifts (≥12 h) experience higher levels of burnout. Yet other shift characteristics, including fixed versus rotating night work, weekly hours and breaks have not been considered. Choice over shift length may moderate the relationship; however, this has not been tested.
Aims: to examine the association between shift work characteristics and burnout and exhaustion, and whether choice over shift length influences burnout and exhaustion.
Methods: cross-sectional online survey of nursing staff working in the UK and Ireland. We recruited two large National Health Service Trusts, through trade union membership, online/print nursing magazines and social media. We assessed associations using both univariable and multivariable generalized linear models.
Results: we had 873 valid responses. Reports of inadequate staffing levels (odds ratio [OR] = 2.84; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.08–3.90) and less choice over shift length (OR = 0.20; 95% CI 0.06–0.54) were associated with higher burnout in multivariable models. Similar associations were found for exhaustion, where rarely or never taking breaks was also a predictor (OR = 1.61; 95% CI 1.05–2.52). Nurses who worked long shifts had less choice than those working shifts of 8 h or less (66% of 12-h shift nurses versus 44% 8-h shift nurses reporting having no choice), but choice did not moderate the relationship between shift length and burnout and exhaustion.
Conclusions: the relationship between long shifts and increased burnout reported previously might have arisen from a lack of choice for those staff working long shifts. Whether limited choice for staff is intrinsically linked to long shifts is unclear.
199-204
Dall'ora, Chiara
4501b172-005c-4fad-86da-2d63978ffdfd
Ejebu, Ourega-Zoe
4f545ae3-4823-44ab-8d59-185d30929ada
Ball, Jane
85ac7d7a-b21e-42fd-858b-78d263c559c1
Griffiths, Peter
ac7afec1-7d72-4b83-b016-3a43e245265b
2 May 2023
Dall'ora, Chiara
4501b172-005c-4fad-86da-2d63978ffdfd
Ejebu, Ourega-Zoe
4f545ae3-4823-44ab-8d59-185d30929ada
Ball, Jane
85ac7d7a-b21e-42fd-858b-78d263c559c1
Griffiths, Peter
ac7afec1-7d72-4b83-b016-3a43e245265b
Dall'ora, Chiara, Ejebu, Ourega-Zoe, Ball, Jane and Griffiths, Peter
(2023)
Shift work characteristics and burnout among nurses: cross-sectional survey.
Occupational Medicine, 73 (4), , [kqad046].
(doi:10.1093/occmed/kqad046).
Abstract
Background: nurses working long shifts (≥12 h) experience higher levels of burnout. Yet other shift characteristics, including fixed versus rotating night work, weekly hours and breaks have not been considered. Choice over shift length may moderate the relationship; however, this has not been tested.
Aims: to examine the association between shift work characteristics and burnout and exhaustion, and whether choice over shift length influences burnout and exhaustion.
Methods: cross-sectional online survey of nursing staff working in the UK and Ireland. We recruited two large National Health Service Trusts, through trade union membership, online/print nursing magazines and social media. We assessed associations using both univariable and multivariable generalized linear models.
Results: we had 873 valid responses. Reports of inadequate staffing levels (odds ratio [OR] = 2.84; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.08–3.90) and less choice over shift length (OR = 0.20; 95% CI 0.06–0.54) were associated with higher burnout in multivariable models. Similar associations were found for exhaustion, where rarely or never taking breaks was also a predictor (OR = 1.61; 95% CI 1.05–2.52). Nurses who worked long shifts had less choice than those working shifts of 8 h or less (66% of 12-h shift nurses versus 44% 8-h shift nurses reporting having no choice), but choice did not moderate the relationship between shift length and burnout and exhaustion.
Conclusions: the relationship between long shifts and increased burnout reported previously might have arisen from a lack of choice for those staff working long shifts. Whether limited choice for staff is intrinsically linked to long shifts is unclear.
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22-OP-136.R2a-Highlighted-AE-edits_R2
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kqad046
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Published date: 2 May 2023
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© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.
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Local EPrints ID: 476715
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/476715
ISSN: 0962-7480
PURE UUID: 24d692d3-6293-4b9e-84e1-9d0f73b33dde
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Date deposited: 12 May 2023 16:35
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:05
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Author:
Jane Ball
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