Background Occupational burnout has an important impact on the physical and mental health of nurses, stability of the nursing team, and patient safety. As significant contributors to the effective operation of medical and health institutions, clinical nurses experience high occupational burnout because of the comprehensive effects of many factors, such as family and work pressures. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand the factors associated with nurses’ occupational burnout and their interrelationships, to support the development of targeted interventions to reduce occupational burnout among clinical nurses. Objective To explore the relationship between work–family conflict, career calling, and occupational burnout among nurses. In addition, we studied whether career calling plays a mediating role between work–family conflict and occupational burnout. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1,145 nurses. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire, Work-Family Behavioral Role Conflict Scale, Career Calling Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory. Structural equation models were used to build the model. A STROBE checklist was used to report the results. Results Nurses’ occupational burnout was positively related to work–family conflict but negatively correlated with career calling. Meanwhile, career calling mediates the relationship between work–family conflict and occupational burnout. Conclusion Nurses’ career calling plays a mediating role in the relationship between work–family conflict and occupational burnout. The findings of this study can provide essential information to nursing managers to formulate targeted strategies to reduce occupational burnout among nurses.
Luo et al. (Wed,) studied this question.