Workload and burnout in nurses

This paper examines the relationship between workload, burnout and somatiza tion in nurses. The respondents consisted of 1363 nurses employed in hospit als, which were undergoing extensive restructuring. Results of structural e quation analyses showed that workload was positively related to emotional e xhaustion. Emotional exhaustion led to cynicism and somatization, and cynic ism was negatively related to nurses' professional efficacy. Implications o f the: results for nursing practice are discussed. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.