Work Related Stress Effect
Table Effects of Work Related Stress
Frequency Percentages
Yes No of yes
Do you get adequate social support from your 34 17 66
Family Members
Do you get adequate social support from your 39 12 76
colleagues or Peers
Do you sometimes experience loss of work 27 24 53
interest
Have you had frequent lateness due to work – 35 16 69
related pressure
Has work place affected your performance 32 19 62
The study the sought effects of work related stress among student nurses in
Sagana Sub County hospital in Kirinyaga County. From the findings, majority 76%,
69% and 66% of the respondents indicated that they get adequate social support from
colleagues or peers, have had frequent lateness due to work –related pressure and get
adequate social support from family members as a result of work related stress. Most 62%
and 53% of the respondents indicated that work place affected their performance and
they sometimes experience loss of work interest. This implies that student nurses in
Sagana Sub County hospital experience work related stress and get support from
colleagues and family members. This is in line with Singh and Kohli (2015), who
suggests that certain individuals, in a variety of occupations, are increasingly
exposed to unacceptable levels of job-related stress.
Rating of Alcoholism
Table Rating Alcohol Consumption
Frequency Percentages
High 17 33
Moderate 19 38
Low 15 29
Total 51 100
The study sought from respondent’s rate of alcohol taking in the past four
weeks. From the findings, majority 38% of the respondents indicated that in the past
four weeks, they have moderate rate taking of alcohol. 33% of the respondents
indicated that in the past four weeks they have had high rate of taking alcohol while
29% of the respondents indicated that they have had low rate of taking alcohol. This
implies that alcohol taking has been high in the past four weeks. This is in line with
Margolis, (2012), who stated that the elevated rates of stress, alcohol consumption
and alcohol abuse have raised concern with student’s nurse’s excessive drinking
patterns and the serious consequences associated with alcohol use which is stress.
Most of the respondents indicated that reporting late to work for various
reasons related to Alcohol and experience dissatisfaction at work place influence
student nurse to engage in alcoholism to a great extent as indicated 77% and 62%.
Most 65% of the respondents indicated that frustration at not being able to meet the
patient’s expectations or demands to a very great extent. The results indicated that
increase psychological distress among the student nurses as supported by 57% who
indicated to work related stress contributed to student nurses taking alcohol
excessively to a great extent,31% indicated to a moderate extent and 12% indicated to
a very great extent. Results indicated that 53% of the respondents indicated that
increase absenteeism resulted from alcohol taking to a great extent, 40% indicated to a
very great extent and 10% indicated to a moderate extent.
Respondents 51% indicated that student experience withdrawn or improperly
talkative due to work related stress to a great extent, 37% indicated to a very great
extent, 12% indicted to a moderate. Increase psychological distress and excessive
alcohol drinking patterns among the student nurses influence student nurse to engage
in alcoholism in Sagana Sub County hospital in Kirinyaga County to a moderate
extent. This implies that work related stress influence student nurse to engage in
alcoholism in Sagana Sub County hospital in Kirinyaga County. This is in line with
Cairney, Kwan, Veldhuizen & Faulkner, 2014) who stated that once the student’s
nurses have established overindulge drinking habit, they do not want to believe that
something that helps them forget their responsibilities could be harmful.
These findings were supported by interview results. The interviewees from
key informants indicated that high workload increase job demand and results into a
stressor and job dissatisfaction. The interviewees explained that this influence nurses
to engage in heavy drinking of alcohol as a way to manage anxiety and stress among
the student’s nurses.
The key informant’s interviewees were requested to explain how experiencing
long working hours among the student’s nurses because work related stress and
influence alcoholism. From the findings, the interviewees indicated that exposing
students nurses exposed to long working hours results in fatalities, accidents and
errors in provision of care within healthcare services, leads to dissatisfaction,
discouragement, and fatigue and this motivate student nurses into taking alcohol to
cope with the pressure of long working hours. The interviewees further indicated that
long working hours among students nurses experience tension, anxiety, insomnia, lack
of time for relaxation and lack of leisure activities, and inadequate time for taking care
of family resulting into taking substance and heavily taking alcohol to cope with long
working hour pressure. This was supported Bogaert, Clarke, Willems, & Mondelaers
(2013) that in a UK study of more than 2,000 nurses, over half of the participants’
reported that they had felt unwell due to the high workloads within their work area,
poor work life balance resulting into alcoholism , which has resulted in an increase
rate of absenteeism and level of perceived ill health .
The interviewees indicated that poor hospital environment characterized by
inadequate support, inadequate student nurses that hinder student nurses from taking
time off to address physical and psychological concerns, failure to involve the student
nurses in parent care decision making, professional isolation, ineffective job rotation,
role ambiguities and unclear role expectations. The interviewees also revealed that
irregular shifting in job schedule and the amount of overtime worked contributed to
work related stress. In addition, nurse’s normal weekly hours and their increasing job
assignments caused job dissatisfaction. The results concurred with Johansson,
Sandahl and Hasson (2013) that long working hours coupled too much work influence
nurses to engaged in alcoholism.
The interviewees indicated that lack of support from the hospital management
increased high turnover causing understaffing and increase in workload. The
interviewees also indicated that lack of support from the clinical staff results into poor
relation stemming from negative interactions with clinical staff. The interviewees
further indicated that management failure to offer counseling support to the affected
student nurses. Lack of support in provision of workplace resources includes
employee-assistance programs, employee health services, and human resources
departments influence student nurses anxiety. Further interviewees indicated that poor
provision of early intervention and lack of help to colleagues make students nurses
fell isolated and lonely hence engage in alcoholism. The findings concurred with Lin,
Liao, Chen, and Fan (2014) that in Taiwan, inadequate support from top hospital
management contributed to 320 general ward nurses from four regional hospitals in
Taiwan to engage in alcoholism.
The key informants were requested to indicate how poor staffing level led to
workplace stress and alcoholism among the students nurses at Sagana Sub County
hospital. The interviewees indicated that poor staffing level at the hospital has led
high workload among the student’s nurses, poor job rotation and long working hours.
The interviewees also indicated that poor staffing level because negative interrelation
and misunderstanding of clinical manager, decrease motivation among the student
nurses, results into lack of concentration at work resulting into anxiety and poor
decision making impairing job performance. This negatively affects emotional and
physical statuses among intern nurses which make them indulge into alcoholism.
Unclear work or conflicting roles and boundaries can cause stress, as can
having responsibility for people. The possibilities for job development are important
buffers against current stress, with under promotion, lack of training, and job
insecurity being stressful. There are two other sources of stress, or buffers against
stress: relationships at work, and the organizational culture. The results were
supported by Eygelaar & Stoltenberg (2012) who indicated that poor skill mix
negatively affects the quality of patient care, due to the differences in competency
levels and scope of practice, and is also linked to increased length of stay among the
nurses resulting to alcoholism to cope up with long working hours.
Managers who are critical, demanding, unsupportive or bullying create stress,
whereas a positive social dimension of work and good team working reduces it. The
key informants indicated that ineffective work-life balance as a result of minimal
work and non-work conflict where student nurses were offer low assignment and at
time no assignment given staying idle most of the time, other were found to have too
much work and no time to take care of their family and children resulting role or
responsibility conflicts, causing anxiety and stress. The interviewees revealed students
nurses experienced inadequate time and energy to involve in home responsibilities
due huge and demanding of their job that caused burnout syndrome, raising the risky
to chronic exposure to work-related stresses. The findings were supported Bakker
(2012) who opined that workplace stressors, poor staff morale and lack of power or
powerlessness has been observed in a study of 50 nurses practicing within the
Metropolitan and rural hospitals of developing countries and that perceived lack of
control the nurse held in relation to rosters, patient load and support from senior staff.
The interviewees indicated that lack of defining the specific roles of the
students nurses results into assigning of duties that students nurses were not trained
for, other assigned complex patient cases that were difficult to handle resulting into
high-level of stress among the students nurse’s who in turn results into alcoholism in
an effort to cope. The interviewees also indicated that lack of clarity of responsibilities
increase in workload that demand high level competency and qualifications that
acquired by the students nurses and this affected provision of quality medical service
as there was occurrence of insufficient time allocation to provide quality patient care.
Finding were similar to Bogaert, Clarke, Willems, & Mondelaers (2013) that nurses in
London experience high workloads within their work area as a result of an inadequate
nurse patient ratio, which has resulted in an increase rate of absenteeism and level of
perceived ill health
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