Embitterment among German academic and non‐academic nurses

Abstract

Purpose -Nursing staff display symptoms of psychological stress more frequently than members of other professions. The subjective experience of embitterment also takes on a greater significance. This paper seeks to determine if level of education has an impact on the degree of embitterment as a function of educational status.Design/methodology/approach -A between subjects design was used with academic status as the independent variable and self-report embitterment, using the German version of the Bern Embitterment Inventory, as the primary dependent variable. A random sample of 212 German nurses with academic and non-academic education participated in the study. Findings -The comparison between academic and non-academic nursing staff revealed a statistically significant difference indicating that an academic education has a positive effect on the subjective perception of embitterment ( p ¼ 0.001).Originality/value -Considering the current situation of academic nurses within the German health care system and the everyday nursing routine, psychological stress potential of unique dimensions such as embitterment have important ramifications in terms of understanding the relationship between the mental health and academic status of nurses within this system. The findings suggest the merit and value of further implementation of academic nursing study courses in Germany.

Implication of findings from a two-wave survey on embitterment in South Korea for strategies to promote mental health of the general public.

“…H. Lee et al, 2017;Sensky et al, 2015;J. Shin & You, 2022;van Eckert et al, 2011), as well as for the nonclinical general population with a high prevalence of embitterment (J. H. You & Ju, 2020), support this conceptual aspect of embitterment. Dalbert (2011) emphasized that embitterment could only be fully understood when a basic need to believe in a just world (BJW) is taken into account.…”

“…H. Lee et al, 2017; Sensky et al, 2015; J. Shin & You, 2022; van Eckert et al, 2011), as well as for the nonclinical general population with a high prevalence of embitterment (J. H. Lee & Kim, 2019; You & Ju, 2020), support this conceptual aspect of embitterment.…”

Resentful and religious: How religiosity can mitigate the detrimental effects of workplace embitterment on helping behaviors

“…Extant research recognizes that exposure to emotion‐draining work treatments can leave employees reluctant to engage in helping behavior, but it has not explicated how employees who linger on past negative work events and feel bitter about them—reflecting an actual experience of negative emotions (Linden & Arnold, 2022; van Eckert et al., 2011)—respond. We focus specifically on relevant factors that underpin or influence the conversion of such experienced feelings into diminished helping behaviors.…”

“…We address another relevant but thus far unexplored deterrent of helping behavior: workplace embitterment , defined as “persistent feelings of being let down, insulted and of being revengeful but helpless” (Linden, 2003, p. 197). As explicated by van Eckert and colleagues (2011, p. 104), workplace embitterment “differs from depression, hopelessness or anger although they may well occur simultaneously.” It also differs from envy, a specific negative emotion that arises when employees feel frustrated that others have something they lack (Smith & Kim, 2007). Frustration sparked in the case of workplace embitterment is not restricted to comparisons (Linden & Arnold, 2022).…”

Leaving Spain

“…In Germany, many medical tasks are reserved for physicians. Some informants voiced their frustration about not being allowed to apply their knowledge about prescribing medication for small wounds and infections (van Eckert et al, 2011). Furthermore, they were surprised about being put in charge of washing patients, which is something that family members are commonly expected to do in Spain (Kuhlmann & Jensen, 2015).…”