The Relationship among Job Stress, Workplace Adaptation and Sense of Coherence of Nurses who were Relocated to Operating Room within 5 years

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship among job stress, workplace adaptation and sense of coherence (SOC) of nurses who were relocated to the operating room within 5 years.

Methods: A questionnaire survey on job stress, SOC, and workplace adaptation was administered to 256 nurses within 5 years after their relocation to the operating room. In the analysis, hypotheses were considered based on the theory of SOC and structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between the concepts.

Results: In total, 190 participants completed the survey questionnaire (response rate: 74.2%) and 143 responses were analyzed. The structural equation modeling fit was generally good (GFI = .942, CFI = .975, RMSEA = .061). The rate of adjustment for workplace adaptation was 71%. The pass coefficient was .68 from SOC to workplace adaptation, –.47 from SOC to job stress, and –.27 from job stress to workplace adaptation (p < .01). Higher job stress was associated with lower workplace adaptation, and higher SOC was associated with lower job stress and higher workplace adaptation.

Conclusion: SOC was shown to be associated with workplace adaptation among operating room nurses. It was suggested that SOC-focused support, such as encouraging awareness of being part of the surgical team and involvement in surgical progression, may promote workplace adaptation.