Original Research

Occupational stress, sense of coherence, coping, burnout and work engagement of registered nurses in South Africa

Johanna J. van der Colff, Sebastiaan Rothmann
SA Journal of Industrial Psychology | Vol 35, No 1 | a423 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v35i1.423 | © 2009 Johanna J. van der Colff, Sebastiaan Rothmann | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 08 April 2008 | Published: 09 February 2009

About the author(s)

Johanna J. van der Colff, Northwest-University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Sebastiaan Rothmann, North-West University - Potchefstroom Campus

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the occupational stress, sense of coherence, coping, burnout and work engagement of registered nurses in South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of 818 registered nurses. The Nursing Stress Inventory, the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, the COPE, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were administered. The results show that the experience of depletion of emotional resources and feelings of depersonalisation by registered nurses were associated with stress due to job demands and a lack of organisational support, focus on and ventilation of emotions as a coping strategy, and a weak sense of coherence. Work engagement was predicted by a strong sense of coherence and approach-coping strategies.

Keywords

distress; eustress; psychological strengths; well-being; wellness

Metrics

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