The role of emotional intelligence and organisational support on work stress of nurses in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

BackgroundUniversally, nurses have been reported to be a group at high risk of workplace stress. However, nurses’ responses to stressful situations at work could be the outcomes of individual differences and organisational factors.ObjectivesWe examined the independent and joint contributions of four dimensions of emotional intelligence and perceived organisational support in work stress of nurses in a teaching hospital in Nigeria.MethodsThe study was a cross-sectional survey research design, which selected 228 (41 male and 187 female nurses) nurses through the use of convenience sampling. Questionnaires comprising demographics with work stress, organisational support and emotional intelligence scales were administered to the sampled 228 nurses in the study. Data were analysed with the use of correlational matrix and hierarchical multiple regression.ResultsSelf-emotion appraisal, others’ emotion appraisal, use of emotion, regulation of emotion and perceived organisational support were found to have joint contributions to explaining work stress among nurses. Others’ emotion appraisal, use of emotion and perceived organisational support were found to have independent relationships with work stress.ConclusionOur findings stress that judgement of others’ emotions, accurate use of emotion by nurses and support from management of the hospital are most important in explaining their reactions towards work-related stress.

Associations of occupational stress, workplace violence, and organizational support on chronic fatigue syndrome among nurses

“…Supportive workplace environment could help nurses to be more engaged in nursing work and reduce negative emotions. Lawal and Idemudia () found that perceived organizational support contributed significantly in explaining the level of work stress among nurses. Patrick and Laschinger () found that organizational support was positively related to nurse satisfaction.…”

Emotional Intelligence in Nurses and Emerging Trends: An Integrative Literature Review

“…Regardless, EI does not operate in a vacuum, but interacts in a bidirectional manner with the environment. For example, multiple authors identified organizational factors including organizational infrastructure, organizational justice and relationships with nurse leaders (Cheng, Huang, Lee, & Ren, 2012;Lawal & Idemudia, 2017) as impacting nurses' EI.…”

“…Occupational burnout is defined as mental and physical fatigue and interpersonal alienation caused by chronic work stress that renders workers unable to maintain work functions (Chao, Shih, & Hsu, 2016). This is relevant to nursing as the literature indicates that the high demands of the job have increased the levels of burnout and turnover, creating a shortage of nursing staff across many countries (Hong & Lee, 2016;Karimi, Cheng, Bartram, Leggat, & Sarkeshik, 2015;Lawal & Idemudia, 2017).…”

“…Studies further suggested that specific components of EI were more critical in decreasing burnout. Specifically, research identified other's emotional appraisal (the ability to understand and express one's own emotions), emotional management (the ability to effectively evaluate and manage positive and negative emotions in oneself and others) and emotional control (the ability to effectively control emotions) as important EI factors that moderate stress and burnout in nurses (Gorgens-Ekermans & Brand, 2012;Lawal & Idemudia, 2017).…”

Emotional intelligence dimensions as predictors of coping reactions to stress in nursing practitioners

“…It is important to mention that nurses experience stress within their work environment when they accept that job load outweighs their abilities 31) . Therefore, they look for assistance from the external sources to deal with the stress.…”