Effect of Psychological Empowerment on Nurses Burnout

The health industry needs motivated and satisfied nursing staff to provide quality health services to medical tourists, as well as in other sectors. This study aimed to examine the effects of psychological empowerment on the dimensions of burnout among the Malaysian nursing staff, as well as exploring the role of age, gender, experience, and marital status on the perception of burnout dimensions.

This survey used a sample of 432 nursing staff, using measures of the perception of empowerment and comparing variables with another measure of burnout, collected via a self-reported questionnaire. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Moreover, the group analysis in PLS-SEM estimated the differences among the nursing staff’s perception of psychological empowerment on burnout factors.

The findings reveal that psychological empowerment reduces the impact of burnout symptoms. Moreover, gender and age are different for depersonalization by the perception of psychological empowerment among the nursing staff in Malaysia. The Malaysian nursing staff’s marital status influences the relationships between psychological empowerment and depersonalization, as well as emotional exhaustion and personal unfulfillment. Moreover, the experience of the nursing staff influences the perception of personal unfulfillment in a significant manner.

This study offered important managerial implications, such as considering the nursing staff’s needs according to age, gender, material status, and working experience to address burnout issues of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal unfulfillment. Moreover, it is important to note that the different factors of burnout are perceived differently by the nursing staff based on their attributes. There is a need to utilize the provision of psychological empowerment needs.