ABSTRACT
Objectives: 12 h shifts are becoming increasingly
common for hospital nurses but there is concern that
long shifts adversely affect nurses’ well-being, job
satisfaction and intention to leave their job. The aim of
this study is to examine the association between
working long shifts and burnout, job dissatisfaction,
dissatisfaction with work schedule flexibility and
intention to leave current job among hospital nurses.
Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 31 627 registered
nurses in 2170 general medical/surgical units within
488 hospitals across 12 European countries.
Results: Nurses working shifts of ≥12 h were more
likely than nurses working shorter hours (≤8) to
experience burnout, in terms of emotional exhaustion
(adjusted OR (aOR)=1.26; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.46),
depersonalisation (aOR=1.21; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.47)
and low personal accomplishment (aOR=1.39; 95% CI
1.20 to 1.62). Nurses working shifts of ≥12 h were
more likely to experience job dissatisfaction
(aOR=1.40; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.62), dissatisfaction with
work schedule flexibility (aOR=1.15; 95% CI 1.00 to
1.35) and report intention to leave their job due to
dissatisfaction (aOR=1.29; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48).
Conclusions: Longer working hours for hospital
nurses are associated with adverse outcomes for
nurses. Some of these adverse outcomes, such as
high burnout, may pose safety risks for patients as
well as nurses.