Burnout of female and male nurses in shiftwork

Burnout and psychological stress of nurses in two- and three-shift work was analysed. The study concerned 124 mental health nurses and 162 nurses of mentally handicapped persons; half of the nurses were women. Fifty-two per cent were in three-shift work and the other half worked in two shifts. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used as a measure of burnout. The inventory has three categories: psychological fatigue; loss of enjoyment of work; and (attitudinal) hardening. Female nurses in three-shift work reported more stress symptoms and had ceased to enjoy their work more often than women in two-shift work. Psychological fatigue and hardening were not dependent on the shift system. Male nurses experienced the same amount of burnout and stress in two- and three-shift work. Besides shiftwork, occupational demands and passive stress coping strategies contributed to the experience of burnout and stress. Family demands did not correlate with burnout of the nurses.