Author(s)

Asterios Skefales, Sotirios Plakas, Georgia Fouka, Maria Goni, Maria Vassiliadou, Joanna-Despoina Bergiannaki

Department of Nursing, School of Health and Welfare, Technological Educational Institution (TEI) of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Psychiatric Ward, Georgios Genimatas General District Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece.
University of Athens, 1st Psychiatric Clinic, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.
University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, Athens, Greece.

The recent global economic recession has affected nursing working conditions in terms of salary reductions, increased workload and staff shortages. Poor nursing working conditions are associated with higher levels of burnout. However in Greece this association has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to explore financial crisis related changes in nurses’ working conditions and their associations with burnout. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted and data were collected through self-reported questionnaires from 299 Greek nurses from two Public Hospitals in 2012. Multiple linear regression analyses were used in order to find independent factors associated with burnout. The results showed that Greek nurses had high levels of burnout. Satisfaction from the job, quality of care and feeling equivalent with other professionals were independent predictors of lower emotional exhaustion. Workload increase and willingness to change career and work department were independent predictors of higher emotional exhaustion. Job satisfaction and satisfaction from care quality were independent predictors of lower depersonalization. Changes in working relationships and willingness to change career were independent predictors of higher depersonalization. Higher personal accomplishments were independently associated with more years in nursing, satisfaction from the salary prior to reductions, better quality of care, feeling suitable for the job and being anxious about future career. Influence on nurse efficiency by income reduction was an independent predictor of lower personal accomplishments. In conclusion, Greek nurses were suffering from high levels of burnout which was independently associated with crisis related working conditions. Interventions are needed in order to reduce the burden of burnout among Greek nurses.

Burnout, Austerity, Nurse Practice Environment, Maslach Burnout Inventory

Skefales, A. , Plakas, S. , Fouka, G. , Goni, M. , Vassiliadou, M. and Bergiannaki, J. (2014) Burnout and Its Association with Working Conditions among Greek Hospital Nurses in a Time of Financial Crisis. Open Journal of Nursing, 4, 548-563. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2014.47058.