Investigating the relationship between demographic characteristics, job stress and work ability in nurses: A cross-sectional descriptive study

Nurses play a critical role in the health of society. Previous studies have reported a high level of occupational stress in the nursing community. Therefore, the present study investigates the relationship between demographic characteristics and job stress on nurses' workability. 

 408 nurses participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire, nurses' job stress scale (NSS), and work ability index (WAI). SPSS version 24 statistical software and independent t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis. The significance level in the present study was considered less than 0.05. 

The mean and standard deviation of the age of the nurses was 33.6 ± 5.1 years. 78.2% of the participants (319 nurses) were women, and the rest were men. 68.7% of female nurses (280 people) were married. Nurses had high job stress and poor workability. A significant negative relationship was observed between job stress and nurses' workability (P<0.001). Age and work experience had a negative significant relationship with occupational stress and a positive significant relationship with workability. Also, nurses with higher education had lower job stress and higher workability. 

Considering the negative impact of occupational stress on the nurses' workability, it is suggested that the relevant managers identify and eliminate the factors that cause occupational stress to maintain health, improve the ability to work, and increase the productivity of nurses, to reduce the amount of occupational stress and improve the workability of nurses.