Emotional Labor, Burnout, Medical Error, and Turnover Intention among South Korean Nursing Staff in a University Hospital Setting

Chan-Young Kwon, Boram Lee, O-Jin Kwon, Myo-Sung Kim, Kyo-Lin Sim and Yung-Hyun Choi
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Chan-Young Kwon: Department of Oriental Neuropsychiatry, Dongeui University College of Korean Medicine, Busan 47227, Korea
Boram Lee: Clinical Research Coordinating Team, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 34054, Korea
O-Jin Kwon: KM Science Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 34054, Korea
Myo-Sung Kim: Department of Nursing, Dongeui University College of Nursing, Healthcare Sciences & Human Ecology, Busan 47340, Korea
Kyo-Lin Sim: Department of Music, Pyeongtaek University Graduate School, Pyeongtaek-si 17869, Korea
Yung-Hyun Choi: Department of Biochemistry, Dongeui University College of Korean Medicine, Busan 47227, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Nurses are vulnerable to mental health challenges, including burnout, as they are exposed to adverse job conditions such as high workload. The mental health of this population can relate not only to individual well-being but also to patient safety outcomes. Therefore, there is a need for a mental health improvement strategy that targets this population. This cross-sectional survey study investigates emotional labor, burnout, turnover intention, and medical error levels among 117 nursing staff members in a South Korean university hospital; it also analyzes correlations among outcomes and conduct correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis to determine relationships among these factors. The participants had moderate to high levels of emotional labor and burnout, and 23% had experienced medical errors within the last six months. Save for medical errors, all outcomes significantly and positively correlated with each other. These results can be used to improve the mental health outcomes of nurses working in the hospital and their consequences. Specifically, the job positions of nursing personnel may be a major consideration in such a strategy, and job-focused emotional labor and employee-focused emotional labor may be promising targets in ameliorating turnover intention and client-related burnout, respectively.

Keywords: nurse; mental health; emotional labor; burnout; medical error; turnover intention; South Korea (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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