Aims
To evaluate relationships among psychological capital, creative tendency, and job burnout among Chinese nurses.
Background
Nurses are particularly susceptible to job burnout and kinds of factors related to their burnout. However, limited studies focus on the relationships among nurses' psychological capital, creative tendency, and job burnout in China.
Design
A cross‐sectional design.
Methods
A convenience sample of 200 female nurses was recruited from a grade A tertiary hospital in Shandong province from December 2016–January 2017. Data were collected using self‐reported questionnaires, including the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey, Creativity Assessment Packet, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and the socio‐demographic questionnaire.
Results
Nurses' psychological capital and creative tendency was negatively related to job burnout and psychological capital was positively related to creative tendency. Moreover, creative tendency partially mediated the relationship between psychological capital and job burnout.
Conclusions
Interventions aimed at strengthening nurses' creative tendencies and psychological capital could reduce the occurrence of job burnout.
Impact
This study identified the psychological capital and creative tendency affecting job burnout among Chinese nurses. The psychological capital and creative tendency was negatively related to job burnout; creative tendency partially mediated the relationship between psychological capital and job burnout among Chinese nurses. Nurses should pay attention to their own creative personality and take the advantage of it to release job burnout. Nurse managers are called on to strengthen nurses' psychological capital and creativity in this study by designing effective strategies for preventing job burnout among nurses.