Mediating role of emotional labor in the association between emotional intelligence and fatigue among Chinese doctors: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundFatigue is highly prevalent among doctors worldwide. However, no research has been done to examine the associations of emotional intelligence (EI) and emotional labor strategy with fatigue among Chinese doctors. This study aimed to examine whether or not emotional labor strategy mediates the association between EI and fatigue in this occupational group.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Shenyang from March to April 2014. A set of self-administered questionnaires was distributed to 950 doctors, including Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS), Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) and a 14-item emotional labor scale. Complete responses were obtained from 740 (77.9%) participants. Hierarchical linear regression was performed to examine the associations of EI and emotional labor strategies (surface acting, SA; deep acting, DA; natural acting, NA) with fatigue. Asymptotic and resampling strategies were used to examine the mediating roles of emotional labor strategies.ResultsThe mean score of fatigue was 8.02 (SD = 3.39). After adjusting for age, gender, marital status, job rank, monthly income, weekly working time, shift and department, EI was negatively associated with fatigue (β = − 0.270, P < 0.001). SA was positively associated with fatigue (β = 0.168, P < 0.001), whereas NA was negatively associated with fatigue (β = − 0.105, P = 0.004); however, DA was not significantly associated with fatigue (β = 0.034, P = 0.381). Thus, SA (a × b = − 0.026, BCa 95% CI: − 0.050, − 0.011) and NA (a × b = − 0.024, BCa 95% CI: − 0.046, − 0.006) significantly mediated the association between EI and fatigue, respectively.ConclusionsThere was a high level of fatigue among Chinese doctors. EI could indirectly reduce fatigue partially through modifying SA and NA strategies, respectively. EI intervention, education and training in emotional labor should be carried out to cope with fatigue.

Self-efficacy and fatigue among health care workers during COVID-19 outbreak: A moderated mediation model of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and negative coping

“…In the current study, there was no gender difference in fatigue, which is consistent with previous literature [38]. However, several previous studies claimed that women were more likely to suffer from fatigue [6,48]. The inconsistent results might be attributed to socio-economic status of HCWs.…”

“…According to the previous literature based on Chinses samples [37], a cut-off ≥7 indicated the caseness of fatigue. The Chinese version of the scale has been widely used in health care settings with good validity and reliability [6,38]. In the study, the Cronbach's Alpha for FS-14 was 0.907.…”

“…Work-related fatigue as a longstanding problem in health care settings was associated with reduced vigilance and poor work performance [5], which would enhance the incidence of medical errors and jeopardize work e ciency and quality. Owing to the shortage of HCWs and overwhelming number of con rmed cases during the COVID-19 pandemic, HCWs need to work overload and face numerous stressors, which makes them more vulnerable to experience fatigue [6]. According to the literature regarding the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic, the prevalence of fatigue was 22.1-70.3% [7,8].…”

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“…The total fatigue score was calculated ranging from 0 to 14. The Chinese version of the FS-14 has been used in physician groups in China, and it has adequate reliability and validity (42,43). In our study, the Cronbach alpha coefficient of the FS-14 was 0.844.…”

Ataxic Severity Is Positively Correlated With Fatigue in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 Patients

“…The FS-14, which is a 14-item questionnaire, reflects the severity of two different kinds of fatigue (physical fatigue and mental fatigue), and a higher score suggests severer fatigue (27). Since the study subjects were all Chinese, we adopted a Chinese version of FS-14, which was proved to exhibit optimal sensitivity and specificity in recognizing fatigue among the Chinese-speaking population (28) and was widely used for valuing the severity of fatigue (29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34). To value the severity of daytime somnolence, sleep disturbances, and depression, which were reported to related to the severity of fatigue (19,20,22), patients were asked to complete the Chinese version of questionnaires of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).…”