Fatigue in new registered nurses: A 12‐month cross‐lagged analysis of its association with work motivation, engagement, sickness absence and turnover intention

AIM: This longitudinal study examines the motivational factors that explain why and how fatigue acts on new nurses' affective (work engagement), attitudinal (intention to leave the occupation) and behavioural (sickness absence) work outcomes. BACKGROUND: Growing nurse shortage makes it crucial to understand how and why fatigue can cut short the career of nurses. METHODS: This two-wave longitudinal study (baseline, 12-month follow-up) was conducted among 630 French-speaking new registered nurses from Canada. The proposed cross-lagged model was analysed using the EQS statistical software package for structural equation modelling (SEM). RESULTS: Time 1 fatigue was positively related to time 2 controlled motivation (working under internal or external pressure). Taking into account the cross-lagged effects of T1 fatigue on T2 outcomes, T1 controlled motivation was positively associated with T2 sickness absence, whereas T1 autonomous motivation (working because the activity is valued or inherently interesting) was related to all T2 outcomes. CONCLUSION: These findings provide insights into the motivational processes that affect nurses' early career functioning, revealing that distinct forms of motivation explain how fatigue relates to work outcomes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Organisational efforts to strengthen autonomous over controlled motivation constitute a promising strategy to improve new nurses' well-being and retention in the occupation.