Quality of life and work engagement among nursing staff at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

This article investigates the correlation between work engagement and work-related quality of life among nursing staff at a public hospital in S & aacute;o Paulo State, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study of nursing personnel was conducted from December 2020 to January 2021, using the Brazilian versions of the Work & Well-being Survey (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale -UWES) and the Work-related Quality of Life (WRQoL) scale, following Walton's model. Nursing staffs returned a strong positive correlation (r >= 0.70) between the social integration domain of the WRQoL and the vigour dimension of the UWES (r=0.88; p=<0.001); a moderate positive correlation (r >= 0.40 <= 0.69) between working conditions (WRQOL) and the vigour (r=0.40; p<0.001), dedication (r=0.40; p<0.001) and overall score (r=0.41; p<0.001) dimensions of the UWES. Correlations were positive and weak (r <= 0.39) for the other WRQoL domains and the UWES dimensions. It was concluded that personnel with satis-factory levels of quality of life tend to show higher levels of engagement at work. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing professionals were strongly engaged and satisfied with their work-related quality of life.