In a survey of more than 31,600 RNs across 12 European countries, researchers identified a link between shifts lasting longer than 12 hours and increased signs of burnout and nurses' intentions to leave their current jobs.
Working eight-hour shifts was associated with poorer job satisfaction and working overtime was linked to a decrease in satisfaction overall regardless of the amount of overtime worked, according to the results, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
"Current literature tends to report that 12 [hour] shifts represent a way to retain nurses in hospital clinical practice because it is believed to be the preferred shift length and that nurses are more satisfied with their jobs: our results suggest the opposite," the authors wrote. "[O]ur findings pose substantial questions for managers, most notably because job satisfaction is a consistent and robust predictor of remaining in a job."
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