| dc.description.abstract | Within the health care sector in South Africa, the nursing profession is known as one of the
four most stressful work environments, which is characterised by high workload, staff
shortages and overcrowding situations. This stressful and emotionally draining environment
can be the cause for large numbers of nurses experiencing symptoms of burnout and negative
work-home interference. However, there seems to be a lack of research investigating specific
job demands and job resources associated with burnout and negative work-home interaction
in a nursing environment.
The first objective of this study was to determine the construct validity and reliability of the
adapted Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS). The second objective was
to determine which job characteristics within the nursing environment predict burnout and
negative work-home interference (WHI). The last objective was to determine whether
negative WHI mediated between the most prominent job characteristics and burnout within
the nursing environment and whether it was a partial or full mediating effect. A cross-sectional
survey design was used. Random samples (n = 300) were taken from nurses
working in the Johannesburg, Klerksdorp, Krugersdorp, Pretoria and Potchefstroom areas. A
job characteristics questionnaire, the 'Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen' (SWING)
and an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey were
administered. Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson product moment
correlations, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling were
used to analyse the data.
Regarding the first objective, it was found that burnout consists of exhaustion and mental
distance, whereas cynicism and depersonalisation collapse into one dimension (e.g. mental
distance). Regarding the second objective, the results indicated that the most prominent job
demands and job resources associated with exhaustion are pressure, autonomy, role clarity,
colleague support and financial support. It seemed that mental distance is primarily predicted
by role clarity, colleague support and financial support, while negative work-home
interference is predicted by pressure, time demands, role clarity and colleague support.
Results obtained for the last objective provided evidence for a partial mediating role of
negative WHI in the relationship between the most prominent job characteristics (pressure,
role clarity and colleague support) and burnout (consisting of exhaustion and mental
distance).
Recommendations were made for the organisation and for future research. | |
