What makes nurses flourish at work? How the perceived clinical work environment relates to nurse motivation and well-being: A cross-sectional study

Background: Literature shows that the work environment is a main determinant of nurses' well-being and psychological strain; yet, the (psychological) mechanisms underlying this relationship remain understudied. 

Objective: This study explored the underlying (psychological) mechanisms (why) and boundary conditions (when) by which characteristics present in the clinical work environment influence nurses' well-being. We investigated the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in the relationship of job demands and job resources with burnout vs. work engagement. In addition, we examined if job resources strengthen the relationship of job demands with intrinsic motivation and burnout. 

Design: A cross-sectional survey study. 

Setting(s): General acute care hospitals in Belgium (n = 14). 

Participants: Direct care nurses (n = 1729). 

Methods: Data were collected by means of online questionnaires between October 2020 and July 2021. Study variables included burnout, work engagement, intrinsic motivation and a set of different job demands (workload, role conflicts, emotional demands, red tape) and job resources (performance feedback, autonomy, skill use, opportunity for growth, and value congruence). All variables were obtained using self-report measures. The central hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. 

Results: Job resources appeared to be a crucial factor for nurses' health showing positive associations with work motivation (β = 0.513) and work engagement (β = 0.462) and negative associations with burnout (β = − 0.216). Job demands remained an essential factor that harms psychological health and is associated with increased burnout (β = 0.489). Our results confirmed that intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship of job resources with work engagement (β = 0.170) and burnout (β = − 0.135). In addition, job resources moderated the relationship of job demands with burnout (β = − 0.039). Against our expectations, we found no associations between job demands and intrinsic motivation or a moderation effect of job resources on the respective relationship. 

Conclusions: A highly demanding work environment can be a source of significant stress which may put nurses' health at severe risk. Nurses who perceive sufficient job resources such as feedback, autonomy and opportunities for growth and development, are likely to feel intrinsically motivated at work. In addition, it will foster their work engagement 

and prevent them from burning out, particularly when job demands are high. Registration: The study described herein is funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program from 2020 to 2023 (Grant Agreement 848031). The protocol of Magnet4Europe is registered in the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN10196901). Tweetable abstract: Providing nurses with sufficient resources will not only increase their motivation and engagement at work but also reduce their feelings of burnout.