The role of courage and interactional justice in emotional exhaustion of emergency nurses: a cross-sectional study in Turkey

Abstract

Aim: Thestudy aimed to understand the role of courage and interactional justice in the emotional exhaustion of emergency nurses. Background: Nurses judge managers’ interactions with them. Rude and inappropriate interactions of administrators with nurses are among the reasons that increase the emotional exhaustion of nurses. A courageous nurse can diminish the negative effect of injustice on emotional exhaustion by voicing this unfairness. Introduction: Increasing nurses’ emotional exhaustion due to working conditions is a fundamental problem in the health sector. Perception of justice and courage, studied in organizational psychology, are significant antecedents of emotional exhaustion. Individualswithhighcourage aremore likely to seek support andcopewith job demands. Methods: Using the cross-sectional method, the authors performed descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses to test the hypotheses. Data were obtained from 317 emergency nurses currently working in four public hospitals as emergency nurses or have worked in the last three years. Results: Interactional justice was significantly and negatively related to emotional exhaustion but was positively related to workplace social courage. High courage strengthens the negative relationship between interactional justice and emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Nurses with high courage can reduce emotional exhaustion by raising a voice to request more respectful, honest, polite, and appropriate communication when their managers do not treat them fairly. Implications for nursing practice and policies: Managers’ supportive interventions are necessary and helpful in alleviating stressors that cause emotional exhaustion in nurses. The authorities should see and accept managerial unfairness in health, and steps should be taken toward a solution. There is an urgent need to create a communication environment where nurses can courageously share their problems.