Mediating effect of emotional labor between professional values and job burnout among ICU nurses

Objective To explore the mediating effect of emotional labor between professional values and job burnout among ICU nurses, and to provide a reference for reducing ICU nurses' job burnout and motivating their work enthusiasm. Methods From June to July 2017, 276 ICU nurses from 3 comprehensive ClassⅢ Grade A hospitals in Nanchang were selected as the subjects by convenience sampling. The General Information Questionnaire and Nurses' Emotional Labor Scale, Professional Values Scale and Job Burnout Scale were used to investigate. Structural equation model was used to explore the mediating effect of emotional labor between professional values and job burnout. Results A total of 276 questionnaires were issued and 249 valid questionnaires. The average score of the Nurses' Emotional Labor Scale of 249 ICU nurses was (3.55±0.45) , the average score of the Professional Values Scale was (3.63±0.41) , and the dimensions scores of the emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment of the Job Burnout Scale were (2.77±1.07) , (1.54±1.26) , and (3.78±1.16) . The structural equation fitting indexes were as follows: χ2/df=1.155, GFI=0.976, AGFI=0.942, RMSEA=0.027. Professional values and emotional labor of ICU nurses had direct predictive effect on job burnout. Professional values also used emotional labor as an intermediary variable, which indirectly affected job burnout. Conclusions Nursing managers should pay attention to reducing the job burnout of ICU nurses by improving the level of ICU nurses' professional values and optimizing their emotional labor strategies from the individual factor level. Key words: Intensive Care Unit; Nurse; Emotional labor; Professional values; Job burnout; Mediating effect