Impact of workplace incivility against new nurses on job burn-out: a cross-sectional study in China

This study had three objectives: (1) to investigate the impact of workplace incivility on job burnout of new nursing staff, (2) to verify the partial mediating role of anxiety in the relationship between workplace incivility and job burn-out, (3) to examine the resilience moderating the relations between workplace incivility and job burn-out. Design A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in May 2016 in China. Setting The survey was conducted in 54 cities across 29 provinces of China. Participants A total of 903 participants were invited. Ultimately, 696 new nurses (<3 service years) completed valid questionnaires. The effective response rate was 77.1%. Entry criteria: voluntary participation, having less than three service years and being a registered nurse. Exclusion criteria: being an irregular nurse, having more than three service years and refusing to participate in this work. Outcome measures An anonymous questionnaire was distributed among new nurses. The relationships and mechanism among the variables were explored using descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis. Results The findings showed that workplace incivility was positively correlated with anxiety (r= 0.371, p<0.01) and job burn-out (r= 0.238, p<0.01) of new nurses. The positive relation between anxiety (beta= 0.364, p<0.01) and job burnout (beta= 0.240, p<0.01) was also significant. Moreover, anxiety partially mediated (Z= 7.807, p<0.01) and resilience moderated (beta=-0.564, p<0.01) the association between workplace incivility and job burn-out. Conclusion Experience of workplace incivility by new nurses would likely generate anxiety in the victims. Further, the increased anxiety state could elevate their level of job burn-out. New nurses with high levels of resilience could buffer the negative influence of workplace incivility by using a positive coping style.