Effects of self‐rated workload and nurse staffing on work engagement among nurses: A cross‐sectional survey

Abstract

Ageing of the population and growth in the burden of noncommunicable disease, together with high turnover among registered nurses (RNs), have widened the gap between supply and demand (Marć et al., 2019;Wu et al., 2016). The shortage of RNs has seriously affected patient outcomes, especially in China. By the end of 2017, the number of RNs in China was about 3.8 million, or 2.74 RNs per 1,000 population (China Health Statistics Yearbook, 2018), which is much lower than the average of 9.2 RNs per 1,000 population in the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and lower than the proportion in all but one of those 35 countries (Amiri et al., 2020). Because the number of nurses to care for patients cannot easily be increased quickly to a sufficient level, researchers and managers may be able to improve patient care more readily by focusing on other factors related to patient outcomes, notably, work engagement.Recently work engagement among nurses has been paid much strategic attention because of its significant relationship to patient outcomes, nurse outcomes and organisational outcomes (Keyko et al., 2016). Work engagement is defined as 'a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication,

Pandemic fatigue and clinical nurses’ mental health, sleep quality and job contentment during the covid‐19 pandemic: The mediating role of resilience

“…Adequate staffing has been consistently cited in the literature as an important determinant of patient satisfaction, missed nursing care, adverse events and care quality (Blume et al, 2021). Moreover, a nursing work environment characterized by higher staffing levels was strongly associated with increased work satisfaction, job engagement, motivation, commitment and reduced turnover in nurses (Wang et al, 2021). In our study, higher levels of nurse staffing were associated with decreased pandemic fatigue.…”

The influence of professional identity on work engagement among nurses working in nursing homes in China

“…For example, inculcating a correct understanding of profession, strengthening organizational support, promoting inter‐nurse relationships and timely recognition for nurses' accomplishments have all been proven to be positive strategies for improving nurses' work engagement. (Wang, Chen, et al, 2021) More importantly, the study validates the critical role of professional identity, including its effect on vigour, dedication and absorption. Nursing managers should improve the professional standards, carry out reasonable division of labour and optimize professional evaluation.…”

Defining nursing workload predictors: A pilot study

“…In contrast to the other variables, this prediction value disappeared when nurses' work experience was added into the model as a covariate. Literature reported that individual characteristics of nursing staff (like education, skill and experience) improve performance, work engagement (Wang et al, 2021 ) and that more experienced nurses should report lower workloads (Neill, 2011 ). We supposed that work experience hinders workload perception in general and that more experienced nurses are better at dealing with the disruptions generated by multiple patient specialties.…”