The Influence of Social Support on the Relationship between Emotional Demands and Health of Hospital Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Social support reduces the negative results of emotional labor. A more detailed analysis should be performed to facilitate adequate social support for nurses. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the relationships among nurses' emotional demands, social support, and health. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at two tertiary hospitals in South Korea. A sample of 117 nurses from eight units participated. Between-group differences in the main variables were analyzed using the t-test or Mann-Whitney test, and analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis test. Nurses were classified into eight groups according to emotional demands and type of social support, and the effects of social support were analyzed based on mean scores. Greater social support from colleagues was associated with better health on all measures. However, greater social support from supervisors was associated with a higher incidence of burnout, stress, and sleeping troubles. Nurses' high emotional demands must be managed actively by hospitals to maintain and promote their health. Providing appropriate social support with consideration of the nurse's unit experience would help decrease the effects of emotional demands. Enhancing social support from nursing colleagues is a powerful way to manage the negative effects of nurses' emotional demands.

Keywords: burnout; emotional demands; nurse; social support; stress.

Figure 1

Nurses’ health in four groups defined by emotional demands/social support from supervisors. Note: LHs = low emotional demands/high social support from supervisors, LLs = low emotional demands/low social support from supervisors, HHs = high emotional demands/low social support from supervisors, HLs = high emotional demands/low social support from supervisors.

Figure 2

Nurses’ health in four groups defined by emotional demands/social support from colleagues. Note: LHc = low emotional demands/high social support from colleagues, LLc = low emotional demands/low social support from colleagues, HHc = high emotional demands/low social support from colleagues, HLc = high emotional demands/low social support from colleagues.