Workplace Discrimination and Career Plateauing Among Perioperative Nurses: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study of...

Workplace discrimination has been associated with poorer psychological well-being and perceived constraints on professional development. However, little is known about its association with career plateauing among perioperative nurses or the potential roles of burnout and compassion satisfaction.

A multicenter cross-sectional study examining parallel statistical indirect associations.

Data were collected from 342 perioperative nurses employed in 15 public/teaching and private hospitals across five geographical regions of Iran between January and April 2026. Participants completed measures of workplace discrimination, burnout, compassion satisfaction, and career plateauing. Associations were estimated using ordinary least-squares regression-based path analysis with 10,000 bootstrap resamples. Models were adjusted for age, gender, operating room experience, weekly working hours, number of monthly shifts, and 14 hospital indicator variables.

Workplace discrimination was positively associated with burnout and negatively associated with compassion satisfaction. Burnout was positively associated with career plateauing, whereas compassion satisfaction was negatively associated with career plateauing. The adjusted total association between workplace discrimination and career plateauing was significant (B = 0.082, 95% CI [0.054, 0.110], p < 0.001). The direct association remained significant after inclusion of burnout and compassion satisfaction (B = 0.035, 95% CI [0.011, 0.059], p = 0.004). Positive statistical indirect associations were observed involving burnout (effect = 0.031, 95% bootstrap CI [0.014, 0.049]) and compassion satisfaction (effect = 0.016, 95% bootstrap CI [0.004, 0.030]). The contrast between the two indirect estimates included zero (effect = 0.015, 95% bootstrap CI [-0.005, 0.035]). The final career plateauing model explained 46.8% of the variance (R² = 0.468; adjusted R² = 0.431).

Workplace discrimination was associated with greater career plateauing, with parallel statistical indirect associations involving higher burnout and lower compassion satisfaction. Because the data were cross-sectional, these associations should not be interpreted as temporal or causal mechanisms. Organizations could consider evaluating equitable career-development systems alongside approaches aimed at reducing occupational strain and supporting the positive professional rewards of perioperative nursing.