Page 136 - GHES-2-3

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
An interpretative phenomenological study on

nurses’ perceived affective wellbeing at work

1
Chrysi Leliopoulou * , Theodora Stroumpouki 2 , and Linda Collins 3
1 Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and
Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, East of England, United Kingdom
2 Department of Health Science, School of Adult Nursing, Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care
and Education, Kingston University, London, United Kingdom
3 Department of Health and Human Sciences, School of Adult Nursing, Faculty of Health and Human
Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana, United States of America

Abstract
Nurses face increasingly complex and challenging workloads, exacerbated by high rates
of absenteeism, mental health issues, and low morale, all of which significantly impact
patient care. This study focuses on exploring nurses’ perceived affective wellbeing,
perceived workload burden, and the current working conditions they face. The objective
was to understand nurses’ perspectives on affective wellbeing, self-care, and work-life
balance. We utilized an interpretative phenomenological approach to design the data
collection and management for this study. Through open dialogue, we explored the
notion of wellbeing at work with nurses of varying levels of work experience, from fairly
novice to expert practitioners who have worked for decades in their fields. The broader
Academic editor:
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE responsibilities of nurses of nurses within the National Health Service (NHS) were also
examined. Two experts in interpretative phenomenological analysis led the discussion
*Corresponding author:
Chrysi Leliopoulou in three different groups, which each consisted of nurses with similar years of work
(c.leliopoulou@uea.ac.uk) experience, averaging 13 years. Thirty-eight registered nurses volunteered to participate
in these discussion groups, with participants recruited from postgraduate courses and
Citation: Leliopoulou, C.,
Stroumpouki, T. & Collins, L. (2024). representing both acute and community care settings in regional hospitals. Nurses shared
An interpretative phenomenological insights into what makes nursing a rewarding job but also acknowledged the significant
study on nurses’ perceived affective challenges they face. Discussions highlight the stressful and traumatic circumstances
well-being at work. Global Health
Econ Sustain, 2(3):3012. nurses often encounter, particularly noting a lack of collegiality among nurses at all
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3012 levels, limited career aspirations, inadequate support with workloads, and the emotional
Received: February 26, 2024 distress experienced in daily work life. Nurses described their jobs as exhausting and
draining, leading to physical and emotional fatigue, detachment, and isolation. These
Accepted: May 29, 2024
findings hold relevance within the current landscape of nurse and resource shortages
Published Online: August 22, 2024 in the NHS. Of note, this study identified deeper concerns within the nursing workforce,
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). including emotional dissonance, role dissonance, and disengagement.
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Health; Dissonance; Workload; Perceived affective wellbeing; Work
License, permitting distribution, environment; Work-life balance
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Nurses often face stressful and demanding work environments, operating both as part of
affiliations. a team and independently while managing caseloads and prioritizing care based on the

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3012