Work Addiction Among Critical Care Nurses: Exploring Its Impact on Creativity and Professional Quality of Life

Work addiction is characterized by a compulsive drive to work excessively, often leading to diminished job satisfaction and negatively impacting professional quality of life and creativity. Critical care nurses require a creative mindset to deal with the variety of obstacles encountered during their work. Creativity is essential for succeeding as a critical care nurse in today's competitive world. Furthermore, creativity is crucial to healthcare organizations aiming to achieve excellence and development, particularly in the context of global growth, high demands, and a limited supply of human resources.

To investigate work addiction among critical care nurses' and its relationship with their creativity and professional quality of life.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in 4 ICUs at El-Menshawy General Hospital in Elgarbia, Egypt. All nurses were invited to complete a survey in Google Forms that included the Dutch Work Addiction Scale, Nurses Creativity Questionnaire, and Professional Quality of Life Scale.

A total of 242 intensive care nurses participated in the study: Pediatric (82), Medical (92), Neurological (30), and Cardiac (38). This study revealed that higher levels of work addiction in nurses were associated with increased creativity (r = 0.311, p < 0.001) and improved professional quality of life (r = 0.574, p < 0.001). Also, more than half (53.7%) of critical nurses had moderate levels of work addiction and just under half (49.3%) also had a moderate level of creativity and professional quality of life. Statistically significant differences were found between critical care nurses' levels of work addiction, creativity, and professional quality of life (p = 0.001). Multiple regression analyses indicated that work addiction and other parameters significantly predicted nurses' creativity (R² = 0.453, p < 0.001). Specifically, work addiction (B = 0.606, p < 0.001), compassion satisfaction (B = 0.692, p < 0.001), burnout (B = 0.438, p < 0.001), and secondary traumatic stress (B = 0.199, p = 0.025) were significant predictors of creativity. Additionally, attributes related to work addiction and other parameters significantly predicted professional quality of life (R² = 0.467, p < 0.001). Sensitivity toward problems (B = 0.874, p < 0.001) and risk-taking (B = 2.098, p < 0.001) were attributes that improved professional quality of life.

Findings highlight the need for strategies to manage work addiction among critical care nurses, fostering a balance that enhances creativity and professional quality of life. Implementing time management training, minimizing multitasking, and leveraging technology can improve efficiency and well-being in high-demand healthcare settings.