The relationships between nurses' resilience, burnout, perceived organisational support and social support during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic: A quantitative cross‐sectional survey

Abstract

AbstractAimsTo examine the level of resilience and burnout among British nurses during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic and the influence of personal, social and organisational factors on nurses' resilience and burnout.BackgroundNurses experienced excessive workload and emotional demands over a prolonged period during the COVID‐19 pandemic which may have led to exhaustion. Little research has examined the correlation between the pandemic variables, nurses' resilience and burnout during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic.DesignThis study utilised a descriptive, cross‐sectional research design.MethodsA cross‐sectional and self‐report survey involved 111 staff nurses, who completed a self‐administrated questionnaire between January and April 2021. A STORBE checklist was used to report the study results.FindingsThe study found that nurses experienced a high level of burnout and low to moderate levels of resilience. The study revealed significant negative relationships between the level of burnout and perceived organisational support and nurses' resilience. The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on nurses' social roles and their worries about patient safety were positively correlated with burnout. The perceived organisational support, the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on nurses' social roles and the level of resilience were significant factors for burnout.ConclusionsNurses experienced a high level of burnout during the second wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic, which may be influenced by how they felt their organisations supported them. Nurses' feelings that the pandemic affected their social roles were associated with increasing their burnout.Relevance to Clinical PracticeStrategies should be developed to address staff burnout and resilience. Nurse managers and educators should play leadership roles in creating professional training to include competencies and psychological preparedness for disasters and to implement strategies to increase the organisational commitments to staff safety and well‐being.