Reducing burnout among nurses: The role of high-involvement work practices and colleague support

Background The impact of human resource practices on nurses' well-being, the underlying mechanisms involved, and the contextual factors that enhance or impede their success are not fully clear. Purpose The aim of this article was to examine a moderated mediation model whereby high-involvement work practices are purported to reduce nurses' burnout via psychological empowerment, and colleague support is expected to moderate the mediating role of psychological empowerment in the high-involvement work practices-burnout link. Methodology/Approach Structural equation modeling was employed on cross-sectional survey data collected from a large sample of nurses in Canada (N = 2,174). Results The findings revealed that psychological empowerment partially mediated the association between high-involvement work practices and burnout, whereas colleague support was directly associated with lower burnout rather than exerting a moderating effect. Conclusion The study identifies the universality of high-involvement work practices in alleviating nurses' burnout and highlights the important role of psychological empowerment as an explanatory variable. In addition, colleague support is an important yet independent predictor of nurses' burnout. Practical Implications This study identifies a strategy that can be adopted by hospital managers to help protect against nurse burnout while offering insights into the underlying process involved.

Automated summary

This article examines the impact of human resource practices on nurses' well-being, specifically focusing on the role of high-involvement work practices, psychological empowerment, and colleague support. The findings suggest that high-involvement work practices reduce nurses' burnout partially through psychological empowerment, while colleague support directly decreases burnout. This study highlights the importance of these factors in alleviating nurse burnout and provides practical implications for hospital managers.