The relation between leadership and burnout is complex, affected by situational factors of leadership and the ambiguous nature of burnout. Nurses of various ages, at different stages of career development and participating in different work tasks require different kinds of leadership.

Objectives. The aim of this study was to create a substantive theory of the well-being at work among ageing hospital nurses in Northern Finland. Study design. A grounded theory study. Well-being at work was studied from a positive viewpoint to determine what evoked well-being on the job. The aim was to discover core processes of the phenomenon based on nurses' authentic experiences. Methods. The subjects of this study (n=21) were nurses working at a university hospital in Northern Finland, aged 45-55 years with at least 10 years of hospital work experience, doing 3-shift work. The material consisted of first-phase open interviews (n=4) and diary entries (n=4), and of second-phase interviews (n=4) and open-data collection forms (n=9) based on these, according to theoretical sampling. The material was studied using a constant comparison analysis. Results. The core process of the well-being at work of ageing hospital nurses was found to be reciprocity in relation to colleagues (nurse-nurse interaction) and patients (nurse-patient interaction). Conclusions. Communal aspects were the characteristic features of well-being at work, which were grounded in the surrounding community. Well-being at work was linked to its target, and patient care was found to be the basis of nurses' well-being at work.

utriainen k., kyngäs h. & nikkilä. j. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management19, 1037–1046
A theoretical model of ageing hospital nurses’ well‐being at work Aim  To describe the development process of a theoretical model of ageing hospital nurses’ well‐being at work and the subsequent testing of the model itself. Background  Factors evoking well‐being at work need to be identified to promote nurses’ well‐being. Method  Qualitative data (n = 21) from ageing hospital nurses, consisting of interviews, diaries and open data collection forms were collected and analysed using grounded theory method. Based on the finding, a survey was developed. Quantitative data (n = 328) were collected from hospital nurses born between the years 1948–1962. Explorative factor analysis was used to create the theoretical model. Results  The main concepts of the model were nurse–nurse interaction, nurse–patient interaction and patient‐care centeredness. Conclusion  According to the theoretical model, well‐being at work can be described as nurses’ experience of collaboration, cooperation and togetherness with other nurses in a supporting and caring work environment. The aim and possibility of high‐quality patient care, in a spirit where nurses and nursing are appreciated, were also revealed. Implications for nursing management  The importance of nurse–nurse interaction and nurse–patient interaction as well as ageing nurses’ patient‐care centeredness needs to be taken into account in nursing management and leadership.