Emotional and Organizational Factors in Nurse Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study

Assess well-being and burnout among nurses at a large acute-care medical center and examine emotional labor and emotional intelligence factors associated with nurse well-being.

Nurse burnout threatens retention, care quality, and organizational performance globally. Although staffing and workload are established contributors, the influence of emotional labor and emotional intelligence is less understood.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 2024 to May 2025 at a 435-bed acute-care medical center in Central Texas, United States. Registered nurses (n = 103) completed validated measures of well-being, emotional labor, and emotional intelligence. We conducted descriptive statistics, regression analyses, and qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses.

Poorer well-being was significantly associated with lower emotional intelligence, particularly self-control, and higher emotional labor demands. The regression model was statistically significant and explained 28% of the variance in Well-Being Index scores, where higher scores indicate poorer well-being (adjusted R² = 0.277); statistically significant predictors were lower emotional control (β = -0.290, 95% CI [-0.49, -0.09], p = 0.004), lower self-control (β = -0.333, 95% CI [-0.56, -0.11], p = 0.004), and higher emotionality (β = 0.250, 95% CI [0.03, 0.47], p = 0.025). Nurses described feeling overworked and underappreciated because of staffing shortages, inequitable compensation, and emotional demands.

Nurse well-being is influenced by both emotional processes and workplace conditions. Improvement strategies should combine organizational change with interventions that strengthen emotional regulation skills.

Nurse managers should implement routine well-being assessments, safe staffing, equitable recognition, and development programs supporting nurses' perceived capacity to regulate stress and manage emotions. This study identifies modifiable predictors of nurse well-being, informing retention and healthier work environments.