A model of burnout and life satisfaction amongst nurses

This study, among 109 German nurses, tested a theoretically derived model o f burnout and overall life satisfaction. The model discriminates between tw o conceptually different categories of working conditions, namely job deman ds and job resources. It was hypothesized that: (1) job demands, such as de manding contacts with patients and time pressure, are most predictive of ex haustion; (2) job resources, such as (poor) rewards and (lack of) participa tion in decision making, are most predictive of disengagement from work; an d (3) job demands and job resources have an indirect impact on nurses' life satisfaction, through the experience of burnout (i.e,, exhaustion and dise ngagement). A model including each of these relationships was tested simult aneously with structural equations modelling. Results confirm the strong ef fects of job demands and job resources on exhaustion and disengagement resp ectively, and the mediating role of burnout between the working conditions and life satisfaction. These findings contribute to existing knowledge abou t antecedents and consequences of occupational burnout, and provide guideli nes for interventions aimed at preventing or reducing burnout among nurses.