The Relationship Between Commuting Stress and Nurses' Well-Being: Considering Gender Differences

Abstract

Aim: This research explores how and why commuting stress influences Chinese nurses' well-being. Background: A daily work commute may result in a significant psychological risk factor that can lead to harmful physiological and mental health consequences. Emerging research indicates that nurses experience long-lasting negative effects on their mental health, including burnout, due to the stress of a daily work commute. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design involving 380 registered nurses from state-owned hospitals in southern China. Hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS macro developed by Hayes [1]. Results: The stress of commuting indirectly influences nurses' well-being through increased emotional exhaustion. There is an interaction between commuting stress and nurses' gender such that the indirect effect of commuting stress on well-being is stronger for female nurses. Conclusions: The spillover effect of commuting stress in the nursing profession is often underestimated. However, this study underscores its significant impact on nurses' emotional exhaustion and well-being. The research findings emphasize that commuting stress contributes to emotional exhaustion and a decline in nurses' well-being. Implications for Nursing Management: Healthcare organizations should leverage these findings to reinforce the importance of self-care for nurses and to provide nurses with resources to help decrease the potential negative outcomes of commuting stress. The study also shows that female nurses may experience a more pronounced association between commuting stress and emotional exhaustion. As such, healthcare organizations should develop gender-specific interventions and support systems that address the unique challenges faced by female nurses in relation to commuting stress.

Keywords: commuting stress; emotional exhaustion; gender; nurses' well-being.

Figure 1

Hypothesized model.

Figure 2

Simple slope–gender as a moderator. Two-way interaction of commuting stress and gender in the prediction of emotional exhaustion. Each graph illustrates the 95% confidence region (shaded area) calculated, the observed data (gray circles), and the upper and lower bounds of the outcome (dashed horizontal lines). The x-axis represents the full range of commuting stress. CI = confidence interval; PTCL = percentile.

Figure 3

Marginal-effects plot with gender as moderator. The shaded regions indicate 95% confidence intervals. A marginal rug is provided on the horizontal axis to indicate observed data across the displayed range of gender. The vertical dashed lines represent the Johnson–Neyman values, which are the points on the gender where the confidence intervals stop crossing zero, indicating the slopes in these regions are statistically significant and nonzero.