Work-Family Balance and Managing Spillover Effects Communicatively during COVID-19: Nurses' Perspectives

Work-family balance mediates self-efficacy and subjective well-being among nurses in Chinese intensive care units: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

ICU nurses frequently confront lengthy working hours, elevated job intensity, heavy medical responsibilities, round-the-clock shifts, and a comparatively closed working environment. The high-risk, high-intensity, high-stress nature of the profession may prompt nurses to consider resignation, culminating in a significant shortage of nursing staff, adversely affecting the health and well-being of nurses. Necessitating a comprehensive investigation into the factors influencing their subjective well-being and the interrelations among these factors, thereby establishing a theoretical foundation for a more focused intervention program aimed at enhancing the subjective well-being of nurses.

METHODS

This study employed a cross-sectional design in accordance with STROBE criteria. Two hundred forty-seven ICU nurses from four tertiary general hospitals were intentionally chosen to take an online survey. Metrics encompassed self-efficacy, work-family balance, and subjective well-being.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrated that self-efficacy strongly influenced nurses' work-family balance and subjective well-being. The work-family balance served as a mediating factor in the association between self-efficacy and subjective well-being. Mediation analysis indicated a substantial overall influence of self-efficacy on subjective well-being (β = 0.758, p < 0.01). In addition, self-efficacy had a direct effect on subjective well-being (β = 0.575, p < 0. 01), on work-family balance (β = 0.458, p < 0. 01), and work-family balance had a direct effect on subjective well-being (β = 0.399, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

This study found that among nurses in ICU have moderate levels of self-efficacy and subjective well-being, which are positively correlated. This suggests that improving the self-efficacy and work-family balance of ICU nurses may help enhance their subjective well-being levels.

Impact of work-family conflict on work engagement among female university teachers: Evidence from China

University faculty, including female teachers, often face work-family conflict (WFC) which subsequently impacts their work engagement. This study analyzes data from 489 questionnaires using Mplus 8.0 to explore the internal mechanisms linking WFC and work engagement among female faculty. The study uncovers several significant findings: (1) a negative correlation between WFC and female teachers' work engagement; (2) job burnout mediates this relationship; (3) job crafting and grit both moderate this relationship. These insights enrich human resource management theory and offer valuable guidance for the development and implementation of university management systems.

Impact of Work-Family Balance on Nurses' Perceived Quality of Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic has put nurses under extreme pressure, especially affecting them by significantly increasing their workload and compromising their well-being. The lack of balance between work and personal life has caused greater stress and burnout in these professionals, deteriorating their quality of life and the care they provide. This study aims to synthesize the scientific evidence on the relationship between work-family balance and the perceived quality of life of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A scoping review was carried out based on the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines in the PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS, WOS, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO databases. The quality of the articles was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).

RESULTS

Five studies involving 1641 nurses from Spain, India, Jordan, South Korea, and Turkey focused on three key areas: (1) work-life balance, (2) quality of life, and (3) factors associated with quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

The pandemic exacerbated pre-existing challenges related to work-life balance and quality of life, particularly for nurses with rigid and extended work hours, increasing stress and negatively impacting their well-being. The study emphasizes the need for flexible labor policies, psychological support, and strong social networks to prevent burnout and improve nurses' quality of life.

The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Family-Work and Work-Family Conflicts Among Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: Nurses' working environment poses various challenges that lead to conflict between work- and family-related roles. Work-family and family-work conflicts (WFCs and FWCs) negatively affect nurses' well-being and patient outcomes. Thus, the current study examined the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention on WFC and FWC among nurses. Method: A randomized controlled trial, pre-post-test design was used in the current study. A total of 123 nurses were recruited and randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 60) and control (n = 63) groups. Findings: Multivariate analysis showed that there was a statistically significant effect of the intervention on the linear combination of the dependent variables V = 0.1, F (2, 120) = 6.61, p < .01. The analyses showed that the mean difference of the WFCs and FWCs scores was significant with the intervention group showing lower mean scores than the control group. In addition, both groups showed higher work-family conflict mean scores compared to the FWC. Discussion: The findings of this study showed that the mindfulness-based intervention significantly improved nurses' WFCs and FWCs. The results should be considered when planning for nurses' well-being and the quality of care being provided to promote holistic nursing care.

Linking Toxic Leadership With Work Satisfaction and Psychological Distress in Emergency Nurses: The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict

INTRODUCTION

Toxic leadership is a prevalent issue within health care organizations, including emergency departments. No studies have been found specifically examining these issues among emergency nurses. This study examined the mediating effects of work-family conflict on the relationship between toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers and psychological distress and work satisfaction among emergency nurses.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data from 285 Filipino emergency nurses, using 4 validated measures. Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS Macro with Model 4.

RESULTS

Toxic leadership had a direct negative effect on work satisfaction (β = -0.3313, P < .001) and a direct positive effect on psychological distress (β = 0.0945, P = .0491). Work-family conflict partially mediated the relationship between toxic leadership and both psychological distress (β = 0.0217, SE = .0141, 95% CI = 0.0002-0.0538) and work satisfaction (β = -0.0438, SE = 0.0216, 95% CI = -0.0884 to -0.0049).

DISCUSSION

The study findings highlighted the negative influence of toxic leadership behaviors on the overall work satisfaction and psychological well-being of emergency nurses. In addition, this study identified work-family conflict as a mechanism that explained how the toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers influenced the psychological well-being and job satisfaction of emergency nurses. The results of this study underscore the need for interventions and strategies to address toxic leadership and mitigate the negative consequences it poses to emergency nurses' well-being.

Perceived ambidextrous leadership and nurses' mental health: a work-family perspective

BACKGROUND

Nurses are particularly at risk from stress-related problems and face high mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical to pay attention to their mental health status and determine which factors are positively associated with nursing staff mental health from the perspective of work-family. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of perceived ambidextrous leadership on nurses' mental health mediated by work-to-family enrichment and moderated by work climate for sharing family concerns.

METHODS

One time-lagged study with three waves was conducted. A total of 358 questionnaires were distributed to registered nurses working at 10 hospitals in Guangzhou, China, and 265 valid questionnaires were returned. The quantitative approach to test hypotheses involves hierarchical regression analyses, the bootstrapping method and the simple slope test.

RESULTS

The research indicated that (a) perceived ambidextrous leadership had a positive influence on nurses' work-to-family enrichment; (b) nurses' work-to-family enrichment mediated the relationship between perceived ambidextrous leadership and nurses' mental health; (c) work climate for sharing family concerns moderated the relationship between perceived ambidextrous leadership and nurses' work-to-family enrichment.

CONCLUSION

Nursing supervisors' ambidextrous leadership interacted with work climate for sharing family concerns benefit the conservation of nurses' personal resources, which in turn facilitates nurses' work-to-family enrichment and improve their mental health.

I Am Not a 'Hero': U.S. Nurses' Identity Overlaps and Conflict During COVID-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies a crisis that is redefining the meaning of communication for many. Metaphors like the "hero" trope are being used to represent our frontline employees, such as nurses who work directly with COVID-19 patients. However, we know very little about how these tropes influence the identities of these nurses and how it impacts their work. This article draws on social identity theory and key works related to role and identity conflict to look at nurses' perceptions of the hero trope being used to define them during this crisis. The study involved 23 semi-structured interviews with nurses from the United States who were working with COVID-19 patients. Nurses described how, due to COVID-19-especially in light of the hero trope - multiple identities became salient during the pandemic. Many of the identity overlaps were minimized during this time as the trope modified the meaning of how some norms around these different sub-identities were understood. This also highlights the role of communication in shaping and modifying group identity norms during crises, thus suggesting an integration of SIT with the constructivist or even some level of poststructural perspective. As a consequence of the pandemic and the minimized overlaps between the identities, nurses felt more self-doubt or failure, which impacted their overall psychological well-being as well as their efficacy at work. Nurses used communication strategies such as providing reminders, separating myth from reality, and directly approaching their managers, to cope with the identity conflicts.

The spillover effect of after-hours electronic communication on nurses' cyberloafing: the mediating role of psychological contract breach

BACKGROUND

Considerable research has investigated the influencing factors of cyberloafing in the workplace. However, few studies have focused on the antecedents in non-work fields, especially for nurses. According to the effort-reward imbalance theory, this study aims to explore the spillover effect of after-hours electronic communication on nurses' cyberloafing, and the mediating role of psychological contract breach.

METHODS

A total of 282 nurses completed the online survey. PROCESS macro for SPSS was used to test how after-hour electronic communication affect nurses' cyberloafing.

RESULTS

After-hours electronic communication has a significant positive impact on nurses' cyberloafing, and psychological contract breach plays a mediating role in the relationship.

CONCLUSION

Psychological contract breach was the linchpin linking after-hours electronic communication to nurses' cyberloafing in workplace. This study provides a guide for healthcare organizations to reduce or manage inappropriate telework arrangements and strengthen nurses' psychological contracts.

How Family-Supportive Leadership Communication Enhances the Creativity of Work-From-Home Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Adapting to the remote working environment has been one of the most visible challenges for many organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. As employee creativity helps organizations' survival and resilience during times of crisis, this study aims to examine the role of leadership communication, family-supportive leadership communication in particular, in fostering creativity among work-from-home employees. The current study specifically focuses on the mediating processes in this relationship and the moderating role of employees' work-life segmentation preferences, using a survey of 449 employees who have worked from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. The results showed that employee-organization relationship (EOR) quality, positive affect, and work-life enrichment mediate the relationship between family-supportive leadership communication and employee creativity. The effects of family-supportive leadership communication on employees' positive affect and work-life enrichment were more prominent for those who prefer to segment their work and lives. This paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for leadership in organizational communication.

An Explanatory Model of Work-family Conflict and Resilience as Predictors of Job Satisfaction in Nurses: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement and Communication Skills

BACKGROUND

The Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) model is used to examine predictors of well-being, work engagement, and individual or organizational outcomes. According to the model, work engagement and communication skills play a mediating role between work-family conflict and resilience to job satisfaction in nurses.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted considering 431 Peruvian nurses of mean age (M = 40.31 years; SD = 10.94) ranging from 22 to 68 years working in public hospitals in the Lima region. Data were collected using a self-reported form of the Job Satisfaction Scale, communication skills, work engagement, work-family conflict, and resilience. The theoretical model was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM).

RESULTS

A theoretical model with adequate fit was obtained [χ²(2) = 6.0, P < .001, CFI = 0.995, RMSEA = 0.068, SRMR = 0.015]. Results indicated an inverse relationship between work-family conflict with communication skills (β = -.24, P < .001) and work engagement (β = -.10, P = .003). Likewise, resilience had an influence on communication skills (β = .55, P < .001) and work engagement (β = .33, P < .001). In addition, the model explains 71% of job satisfaction. Also, the results indicate the influence of work-family conflict and resilience through the mediating role of work engagement and work-family conflict on job satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The model confirmed that work engagement and communication skills are valid moderators to mitigate work-family conflict and strengthen resilience that favors job satisfaction in nurses.

“Everything Is Changing, but I Am Not Alone”: Nurses’ Perceptions of Social Support during COVID-19

COVID-19 has created numerous stressors for nurses, which have impacted their work, self-efficacy, and wellness. Social support helps manage stress and burnout. Through 24 semi-structured interviews, the current article explores the perspectives of nurses who worked with COVID-19 patients in the initial days of the pandemic in the United States. This study unpacks the types and sources of social support nurses sought during this time, especially as they faced significant burnout. Through thematic analysis, the current study found that these nurses interacted with the crisis situation to evaluate their social support needs and the plausibility of fulfilling these needs. They focused on the support that was available or at least perceived to be available and let go of certain needs that could not plausibly be addressed in that moment. Peer-to-peer support was critical during this process, and nurses avoided sharing concerns with their families as they enacted protective buffering. The findings also highlight the complex and dynamic nature of social support as nurses interact with their peers and evaluate the support they receive. Peers helped with haptic support like providing hugs to coworkers, and at times even became surrogates for coworkers’ family members as they participated in communal coping. Organizational support was critical for sharing information centrally with nurses and for organizational sustainability.