Occupational fatigue, workload and nursing teamwork in hospital nurses

Aims: To evaluate the relationships between workload, nursing teamwork and nurse fatigue and the moderating effect of nursing teamwork on the relationship between workload and fatigue. Design: This cross-sectional online survey study used data from 810 United States hospital nurses collected between March and April 2021. Methods: Workload, nursing teamwork and fatigue were measured using the Quantitative Workload Inventory, the Nursing Teamwork Survey, and the Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery scale. Hierarchical multiple linear regression models were used. Results: All the nursing teamwork subscales (i.e. trust, team orientation, backup, shared mental model, team leadership) were significantly negatively related to acute and chronic fatigue. Nursing teamwork components of team orientation, shared mental model and team leadership moderated the relationship between workload and chronic fatigue. The relationships between workload and chronic fatigue were stronger when these components of nursing teamwork were high. No moderating effects were found with acute fatigue. Conclusion: Efforts to increase nursing teamwork may be a promising strategy in managing nurse fatigue. It is equally important to monitor and modify high workload to protect nurses from elevated fatigue. Impact What problem did the study address? Fatigue is negatively associated with the health and safety of hospital nurses and patients. Nursing teamwork has been shown to improve the nursing care of hospitalized patients; yet, it is rarely explored in relation to nurse fatigue. What were the main findings? Greater nursing teamwork is significantly associated with lower acute and chronic fatigue. The relationships between workload and chronic fatigue were stronger when nursing teamwork (i.e. team orientation, shared mental model and team leadership) was high than when nursing teamwork was low. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? Improving nursing teamwork, in addition to monitoring and modifying workloads, can be a promising approach for managing fatigue in healthcare organizations.