Predictors of nurse's happiness: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective An acute shortage of nurses exists all over the world. Part of this shortage appears to be due to nurses’ low job satisfaction, low retention, and high turnover. Happiness at work is identified as a contributing factor that determines the shortage of nurses across the world. This paper critically appraised the existing scientific articles that assessed the individual and organizational predictors of happiness among nurses. Methods The systematic review was conducted from August 2010 to August 2020 using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Scientific articles were searched in the electronic databases (Scopus, Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Pubmed Central) on the predictors of happiness among nurses. Results A total of 13 articles were selected following the literature search and a thematic analysis was done. This review provides updated evidence on the predictors of nurses’ happiness. Job-related predictors were identified as organizational predictors; and personal, psychological, family, social, and spiritual predictors were reported to be the individual predictors. Conclusions As both individual and organizational predictors determine the happiness of nurses, the authors recommend the need for future interventional studies to increase the nurses’ happiness, their mental health, and health-related quality of life.

Determination of nurses’ happiness, hope, future expectations, and the factors influencing them: a descriptive study that can guide policy development to prevent nurse migration*

“…It has been reported that the happiness of nurses is affected by various factors such as gender, age, professional working years, marital status, physical health status, quality of life, reason for choosing nursing, salary satisfaction, workload, patient profile, interpersonal relationships, cognitive flexibility, and emotion management skills [ 15 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 32 , 33 ]. In this study, it was concluded that happiness in nurses was not affected by age, gender, years of employment, educational level, or monthly income level, but it was related to marital status, doing additional income-generating work, desire to work as a nurse abroad, satisfaction with income, the ability of income to meet needs, the value that is the most important source of happiness (health, love, and money), and the level of personal development in the last five years.…”

“…Happiness not only brings a sense of well-being to individuals but also leads to optimism and hopeful attitudes toward the future, enabling innovative and productive choices [ 15 ]. When nurses perceive fair treatment, they tend to have more trust in their work and their supervisors, thus working with hope and motivation [ 19 ].…”

“…The high level of happiness and hope contributes to the increase in an individual’s future expectations. Consequently, individuals with a high level of subjective well-being tend to be more efficient, productive, and innovative in both their family and social lives as well as their professional careers [ 15 ]. Subjective well-being is important in all professions, but especially the nursing profession, where the self is used therapeutically, is directly related to the sense of well-being [ 16 ].…”

Managerial leadership and turnover intentions with the mediating role of employee happiness: an empirical study based on private universities

“…Increasing organisational happiness is crucial to lowering academic personnel turnover (Awang et al, 2015). Employee turnover is primarily influenced by the happiness of employees (Qubaisi, 2017;Arulappan et al, 2021). Employee turnover is a well-known organisational consequence that occurs at a great expense to organisations as it ultimately reduces productivity.…”

Effect of Citrus aurantium Aroma on the Happiness of Pre-Hospital Emergency Staff: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Happy people experience the feeling of security, make decisions more easily, and have a more participatory spirit [ 9 ]. Personal, psychological, family, social, and spiritual components are the individual predictors of happiness [ 10 ].…”