Survey of shift work disorders and occupational stress among nurses: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Shift working has the potential of negatively influencing the quality of work life among nurses. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the outbreak of shiftwork-related disorders and the relationship between shift work, occupational stress, and job satisfaction among in a hospital in Iran, to help identify potential strategies for improving the quality of life among shift-working nurses. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 shift-working nurses from three hospitals in Iran were randomly selected. Survey of Shift worker questionnaire was used as the main study tool. The nurses' demographic and work condition data were collected using a research-made questionnaire. Furthermore, Cooper's job stress questionnaire was used for collecting stress-related information. Chi-square and One-way ANOVA tests were used for the inferential analysis of data. Results: The most prevalent shiftwork-related problem was found to be psychological disorder (96.4%), followed by social life (84.5%) and digestive problems (81%). Nurses who had chosen shift work voluntarily showed significantly higher job satisfaction as compared to those who were forced to work on shifts (P