A longitudinal study of job stress in the nursing profession: causes and consequences

This study examines the influence of changes in work conditions on stress out-comes as well as influence of changes in stress outcomes on work conditions. As such, it answers questions still open in literature regarding causality of work environmental characteristics and the health of nurses. A complete, two wave panel design was used with a time interval of three years. The sample con-sisted of 381 hospital nurses in different functions, working at different wards. Changes in work conditions are predictive of the outcomes, especially of job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. The strongest predictors of job satisfac-tion were social support from supervisor, reward, and control over work. The strongest predictors of emotional exhaustion were work and time pressure and physical demands. Reversed relationships were also found for these outcomes. The results of this study are consistent with transactional models of stress that indicate that stressors and stress outcomes mutually influence each other. To prevent nurses from a negative spiral, it seems of importance to intervene earl