The relationship between role ambiguity, emotional exhaustion and work alienation among chinese nurses two years after COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background work alienation is receiving increasing attention as a psychological risk at work, and little is known about the mechanisms of role ambiguity and work alienation in nurses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This article aims to examine how role ambiguity affects work alienation among Chinese nurses during the two years after COVID-19 pandemic and verify emotional exhaustion as mediators. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used to recruit 281 Chinese nurses. Nurses completed online questionnaires containing demographic characteristics, role ambiguity, emotional exhaustion, and work alienation, and SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0 were used for data analysis and structural equation modelling. Results work alienation scores were (34.64 ± 10.09), work alienation was correlated with role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion (r1 = 0.521, r2 = 0.755; p < .01), and role ambiguity was positively correlated with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.512; p < .01). A mediating effect of emotional exhaustion between role ambiguity and work alienation held (mediating effect of 0.288, 95% CI: 0.221–0.369, accounting for 74.8% of the total effect). Conclusion Role ambiguity has a significant direct effect on nurses’ feelings of alienation and exacerbates alienation through emotional exhaustion. Clarifying roles at work and being less emotionally drained are effective ways to reduce nurses’ feelings of alienation.

Psychological Resilience Mediates Sense of Professional Mission and Career Success in Chinese Intensive Care Unit Nurses: a Cross-sectional Study

“…We calculate the sample size in accordance with Kendall(1975) [37]. The total number of questionnaire items used in this study is 55, and the 20% increase on this basis is due to the consideration of the potential sample size loss caused by un nished work, so the sample size is calculated as N=[(8 + 11 + 11 + 25)x5x(1 + 10%)] = 330, which means at least 330 participants are needed, the survey ultimately gathered 335 questionnaires.…”

Trajectories and predictors of emotional exhaustion in clinical nurses in the context of healthcare crisis: a case study in Xi’an, China

“…Moreover, emotional exhaustion, as a core component of occupational burnout, was considered an initial stage in the process, which only developed into full-blown burnout when individuals did not cope effectively with work-related stressors (Coelho et al, 2023;Yuguero et al, 2022). Therefore, preventing emotional exhaustion was crucial for maintaining the physical and mental well-being of individuals as well as preventing occupational burnout (Zhang et al, 2023).…”

“…Despite scholars conducting relevant studies on the emotional exhaustion of nursing staff, most of the studies were mainly cross-sectional (Hong et al, 2023;Pohl et al, 2023). As a result, these research methods were unable to fully reflect the trajectory of changes in emotional exhaustion in clinical nurses (Ding & Wu, 2023;Karaca et al, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023), and overlook the dynamic temporal variations in emotional exhaustion experienced by nursing staff over time. Besides, previous studies on the changes in emotional exhaustion often treated the psychological states of nurses as uniformly distributed, overlooking the issue of individual differences (Gedik et al, 2023;Rink et al, 2023).…”