Relationship of emotional intelligence to burnout and job satisfaction among nurses in early nursing practice

The Association of Colleges of Nursing has reported that two major contributing factors to the current nursing shortage are job burnout and job dissatisfaction. Given the emotive nature of nursing, this study hypothesized that emotional intelligence would be an individual ability that would influence burnout and job satisfaction. Nurses in early nursing practice (6 to 18 months of experience) in Utah were recruited (N = 235) for participation in this cross-sectional study through a mailed survey. The hypothesis that overall emotional intelligence would have a positive relationship with job satisfaction among nurses in early nursing practice (n = 169) was not supported by the data (Spearman's rho = .009, p = .456). However, the hypothesis that overall emotional intelligence would have a negative relationship with burnout among nurses in early nursing practice (n = 169) was partially supported by the data (emotional exhaustion: Spearman's rho = .009, p = .911; depersonalization: Spearman's rho = -.173, p <.05; and personal accomplishment: Spearman's rho = .175, p< .05). A one-sample t test for the measure of emotional intelligence in this sample indicated that the participants in this study had significantly higher mean scores on the overall measure of emotional intelligence (p < .01) than the normative population. The participants in this study had similar mean scores on the subscale measures of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization on the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) when compared to a normative sample of healthcare workers. However, the participants in this study had a significantly higher mean score in the measure of personal accomplishment on the MBI-HSS when compared to a normative sample of healthcare workers (p < .001). The participants in this study also reported significantly higher levels of perceived stress (p < .05) than the normative population. The primary limitations of this study included a low response rate to the mail survey (26.8%), low overall coefficients of determination, the sampling of only nurses in Utah, and the use of a cross-sectional design. However, the results suggest that overall emotional intelligence may have a minimal role in the prevention or amelioration of burnout; the results also substantiate the pervasive nature of stress and its relevance to nursing.