The relationship between compassion fatigue, emotional work, and job stress among nurses within the eThekwini District

Abstract

Aim: To describe the relationship between compassion fatigue, emotional work and job stress among nurses working in medical and surgical wards in public hospitals in eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Background: It is evident that compassion fatigue, emotional work and job stress have an impact on the well-being of nurses. However, the influence of emotional work and job stress on the development of compassion fatigue has not been explored. Method: The study employed a non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design for data collection. All inclusive sampling was applied to the medical and surgical wards (N=44) of the three selected provincial hospitals and all the nurses (N=360; n = 331) working in the selected wards. Results: Nurses had moderate levels of compassion fatigue, emotional work and job stress. Display of negative and neutral emotions and interaction control were positively correlated with compassion fatigue, while display of positive emotions and emotional control were negatively correlated. Overall job stress was positively correlated with compassion fatigue. Conclusion: Emotional work and job stress is positively correlated with compassion fatigue, and emotional work is positively correlated with job stress. Nurses require job and personal resources through the creation of positive practice environments, support groups, education and training in order to meet the emotional demands of nursing in a stressful job environment.