Young Adult Nurse Work-Related Well-Being, Contemporary Practice Worldview, Resilience, and Co-Worker Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to describe and examine the type and significance of factors significantly related to young adult nurse work-related well-being.Background: Nurse well-being is an important factor related to organizational and patient safety concerns in practice. Young adult nurses have the lowest work-related well-being, highest turnover intentions, and lowest overall job satisfaction across practicing nurses. Research Design: A convergent mixed methods design. Methods: A purposive sample of 110 young adult nurses completed a 72-item online survey. A subgroup of 15 young adult nurses were randomly selected to complete a semi-structured interview. Data were merged for mixed methods integration and analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of young adult nurse work-related well-being. Results: Sixty-seven percent had suboptimal work-related well-being. Initial regression analysis revealed that resilience, Magnet® designation, perceived similarities in practice worldviews with co-workers of a different age, and COVID-19 explained 38% of the variance in young adult nurse work-related well-being. Regression analysis with resilience removed resulted in nurses’ contemporary practice worldview, co-workers’ practice worldviews of different age, managers’ practice worldviews, and COVID-19 explained 31% of the variance in young adult nurse well-being. Content analysis supported three categories, 1) the contemporary practice worldview, 2) the moral dimensions, and 3) facilitators and inhibitors. Mixed methods metainferences generated potential explanations about young adult nurse work-related well-being beyond that possible through either quantitative or qualitative methods alone. Implications: Young adult nurses experience significant levels of work-related distress that place them at heightened risk for burnout, fatigue, patient care errors, and intent to leave in the next 24 months. The moral dimension of nursing is especially relevant to young adult nurse work-related well-being, as are the nurse’s contemporary practice worldview and perceived similarities with co-workers’ and managers’ practice worldviews.