Job characteristics, anger, and emotional exhaustion related to work ability among professional nurses in general hospitals under the ministry of public health
Abstract:
Nursing professionals should have good work ability in order to increasingly promote service quality. Although several factors influence work ability, this study was conducted to examine the relationship between job characteristics, anger, emotional exhaustion and work ability among 878 registered nurses recruited from 10 general hospitals under the Ministry of Public Health, covering 5 regions in Thailand. Each nurse was asked to fill in a questionnaire. Data were collected during September to November, 2006. Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis, Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regression analysis. One-third of the nurses were aged between 31-40 years old (37.7%), with an average age of 35.6 years (SD=7.64), and average duration of work experience of 13.38 years (SD=7.72). More than half (55.9%) reported working less than 8 hours/day. One- fifth of nurses worked in surgical departments (19.6%). More than half of the professional nurses (55.6%) reported good work ability; however, 2.2% perceived low work ability. Work ability had a negative correlation with emotional exhaustion (r=-.38), and states of anger (r= -.38), with p-value<0.05. About three-fifths of the subjects (57.9%) worked more than 9 hours per day. By using multiple regression analysis, 18.8% of variance was explained for professional nurses working ability. These findings suggest that the work ability of nurses should be improved by developing emotional quotient, reducing working hours (not more than 8 hours/day) and increasing their competence and to quality of nursing practice