How increased job demand affects nurses' task mastery and deviance in the pandemic era

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Pandemics significantly increase nurses' job demands and workloads.
• Maintaining ethical standards and performance under high demand is challenging for nurses.
• Limited research exists on how increased demands affect nurses' resources, task mastery, and deviance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and test a theoretical model on the impact of nurses' job demands on task mastery and deviance.
• To examine the mediating role of resource depletion in the relationship between job demands and outcomes.
• To understand the influence of pandemic-related pressures on nursing performance and ethical conduct.

Main Methods:

• A multiwave field study involving 172 nurses from two hospitals.
• Data collected between April and August 2020.
• Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analyses, correlation, and linear regression.

Main Results:

• Job demands may temporarily boost task mastery and reduce deviance.
• Resource depletion acts as a significant mediator, ultimately suppressing these positive direct effects.
• Sustained high job demands negatively influence nurses' performance and ethical behavior due to resource depletion.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare institutions must prioritize supporting nurses' resource reserves.
• Managers should focus on nurses' resource condition, not just increasing job demands during crises.
• Addressing resource depletion is crucial to prevent potential medical malpractice and support nursing staff.