Tension between work and family life common for nurses

AORN Journal,  Jan, 2007  

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Nurses encounter chronic conflict when trying to balance family life and work, according to a Sept 15, 2006, news release from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC. Conflict occurs when the demands and responsibilities of family life interfere with a nurse's role at work or vice versa. For example, a nurse may be distracted at work because of marital problems or a sick child, or he or she may be unable to attend family functions or complete household chores because of work demands.

Half of the 1,906 RNs who responded to a national survey reported chronic (ie, at least one day a week) work interference with their family life; and 41% reported episodic (ie, less than monthly or one to three days per month) work interference with their family life. Conversely, only 11% of the nurses reported that their family life interfered with their work on a chronic basis, and 52% reported episodic interference.

Researchers concluded that work-family conflict is a common problem among nurses, and may exacerbate the current nursing shortage by discouraging people from entering the nursing profession or causing current nurses to leave their jobs. Work-family conflict is associated with

* lower job satisfaction,

* fatigue,

* burnout, and

* emotional distress or depressive symptoms, and it has the potential to undermine nurses' ability to provide high-quality care. Researchers recommended investigating flexible work arrangements such as job sharing to reduce the frequency of this type of conflict.

Work-Family Conflict Common Among Registered Nurses, Study Shows [news release]. Winston-Salem, NC: Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center; September 15, 2006. Available at: http://www1.wfubmc.edu/news/News Article.htm?ArticleID=1936. Accessed October 19, 2006.

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