To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the relationship between nurses’ job burnout and their quiet quitting and the mediating role of job satisfaction on this relationship. We conducted a study with a sample of nurses in Greece and our mediation analysis revealed that job burnout affects quiet quitting through the mediating impact of job satisfaction. Moreover, multivariable analysis showed a positive relationship between burnout and quiet quitting, and a negative relationship between satisfaction and quiet quitting.
We found that the higher the levels of burnout, the higher the levels of quiet quitting within nurses. This finding confirms our first hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between job burnout and quiet quitting. Job burnout refers to physical or emotional exhaustion and it is characterized by feelings of cynicism or negativism to one’s job [37]. Moreover, burnt out workers have a sense of loss of personal identity and reduced accomplishment. Job burnout is a challenge for nursing staff since nurses have high burnout prevalence due to adverse working conditions, such as rotating shifts, very long duties, scarcity of resources, low salaries, overload, and little autonomy [38]. Levels of burnout among nurses are high and COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that burnout is a critical issue for healthcare workers [11–13]. Also, studies after the pandemic reveal that nurses’ turnover intention has increased significantly [39]. Additionally, daily interaction and emotional engagement between nurses and patients increase nurses’ burnout [40]. Thus, nurses are among workers that experience the highest levels of burnout. In this context, literature suggests our finding that job burnout has a negative effect on a work-related variable such as quiet quitting, since burnout is also associated in a negative way with other work-related variables such as turnover intention, workplace commitment, meaning of work, and satisfaction [38, 41]. Therefore, burnout is a critical issue for nursing staff and psychological measures and strategies should be developed and implemented to provide nurses with more support. Policy makers, organizations, and managers should help nurses to find a better work-life balance in order to improve nurses’ quality of life and provide high quality care for patients.
Furthermore, our results showed that job satisfaction had a partially mediating effect on the association between nurses’ job burnout and quiet quitting. In other words, our mediation analysis is a significant way to connect job burnout with quiet quitting. This finding is consistent with previous studies including nursing samples where job satisfaction acted as a mediator variable in the relationship between work-related variables. In particular, job satisfaction partially mediated the positive association between nurses’ grit and job performance [26]. Moreover, satisfaction mediated the association of professional identity and nurses’ intention to stay [25]. Hu et al. revealed that the indirect effect of satisfaction was significant in that nurses’ career identity influenced turnover intention [23]. Other studies also proved the mediating effect of job satisfaction on outcomes such as work engagement and quality of nursing care [24, 27]. Job satisfaction is a determinant of nurses’ productivity and therefore quality of healthcare since it is the state of favorable feelings and well-being of workers in their workspace [42]. Thus, improvement of job satisfaction could reduce negative outcomes such as quiet quitting. In this context, stakeholders and organizations should apply effective interventions to improve work conditions and enhance nurses’ satisfaction, e.g. higher salaries, more resources, deeper communication between nurses and managers, and better management.
Our study had several limitations. First, we conducted a cross-sectional sample with a nursing sample in Greece. Although, our sample covered the minimum requirements of sample size it was not a representative and random sample of nurses in the country. Further studies with bigger and more representative samples not only in Greece but also in other countries would add valuable information. Second, our study assessed for first time the mediating role of job satisfaction on the relationship between nurses’ job burnout and their quiet quitting. Thus, it is necessary to perform further research including nurses and other healthcare workers from different cultures and work environments to improve our knowledge. Third, we used self-reported questionnaires to measure burnout, quiet quitting, and satisfaction. Therefore, information bias could be arisen in our study due to invalid nurses’ answers. Fourth, in mediation analysis, we controlled for the effects of several demographic and job characteristics of nurses. However, several other variables could also influence the relationship between our study variables. Fifth, we explored the mediating effect of one variable (i.e. job satisfaction), while other mediators may also contribute to the relationship between job burnout and quiet quitting. For instance, resilience and social support could act as mediator variables. Finally, our cross-sectional data cannot verify the mediating effect of job satisfaction. Thus, cohort studies should be conducted to further explore our mediation model.