The Work Environment Scale: a comparison of British and North American nurses

Previous research into stress in nursing has identified different sources of stress for different specialties without specifying the source of that stress or providing comprehensive understanding of the variables that might contribute to it. This study examines the work environment of 209 nursing staff using the Work Environment Scale. Significant differences were found between a UK sample and the original American norms. Further research highlighted significant interactional effects between demographic variables and the subscales of the WES, and these may form the basis for future research.