INFLUENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT, WORK-LIFE BALANCE, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND WORKLOAD ON BURNOUT AMONG NURSES IN A TEACHING HOSPITAL

Abstract

Nurses as one of the main primary caregivers experience burnout as a result of high workload, shortage of staff, lack of proper rest periods between shifts, etc. Previous studies on burnout focus more on organisational variables with scant attention on personal factors. This study therefore, examined the influence of mental health support, work-life balance, interpersonal relationships and workload on burnout among nurses in University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample of 350 nurses using a cross-sectional survey design. The results revealed a significant difference between the burnout of nurses who received high mental health support (M = 2.79, SD = 0.39) and those who received low mental health support (M = 3.47, SD = 0.32), t(348) = 17.91, p < .01; had low work-life balance (M = 2.88, SD = 0.44) and high work-life balance (M = 3.45, SD = 0.36), t(348) = -13.32, p < .01; had high interpersonal relationships within their teams (M = 2.71, SD = 0.29) and nurses who experienced low interpersonal relationships (M = 3.51, SD = 0.28), t(348) = -25.69, p. < .01; who experienced high workload (M = 3.48, SD = 0.32) and those who experienced low workload (M= 2.73, SD = 0.31), t(348) = 21.65, p < .01. Mental health support, work-life balance, interpersonal relationships, and workload jointly predicted burnout (R² = 0.64, F(4, 345) = 149.44, p < .05). Mental health support (? = .47, t = 7.26, p < .05), work-life balance (? = -.11, t = -2.75, p < .05), and workload (? = .30, t = 6.53, p < .05) independently predicted burnout among nurses, while interpersonal relationships (? = -.029, t = -.45, p > .05) did not. Mental health support, work-life balance, interpersonal relationships, and workload influenced burnout among nurses at the University College Hospital. Management of the hospital should develop mental health support programmes, promote work-life balance, foster positive interpersonal relationships, and reduce nurses’ workload.   Keywords: Mental health support, Work-life balance, Interpersonal Relationships, Workload, Burnout