Factors Influencing Nurses’ Work–Life Balance: A Systematic Review of Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Solutions for Healthcare Practice and Policy

AIM: To consolidate existing evidence on the factors affecting nurses' work-life balance. BACKGROUND: Work-life balance is an emerging concept among many professions, including nursing. Given the global nursing shortage and high demand for nurses, more attention should be placed on understanding the factors affecting nurses' work-life balance. Better measures can hence be created to improve nurses' work-life balance. METHODS: Six databases (PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and Scopus and Web of Science) were searched from inception up to February 2024. A grey literature search and screening of reference lists of relevant papers were also conducted. Identified studies were screened against the eligibility criteria, including population, outcome and type of study. The screening, appraisal and data extraction of the eligible papers were done independently by two reviewers. Available evidence was then synthesised using a convergent integrated approach. RESULTS: Twenty-one quantitative studies and one qualitative study were included. Six themes on factors affecting nurses' work-life balance were derived: (1) sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, gender, income status and marital status, (2) personal life, including family support and social life, (3) job control, with emphasis on control over working hours, (4) job demand, encompassing both physical and psychological impacts, (5) work schedule, with highlight on frequent night shifts and shift changes and (6) working environment, including work culture and settings. DISCUSSION: As evident from this review, work-life balance is a multifactorial concept. Nurses, nurse leaders and healthcare organisations have the shared responsibility of ensuring that nurses have an improved work-life balance. Understanding the different factors affecting nurses' work-life balance can allow these stakeholders to take steps towards improving nurses' work-life balance, which in turn result in better clinical outcomes. However, it should be considered that the evidence gathered in this study might not provide a complete overview of the factors affecting nurses' work-life balance due to the complexities of the topic. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND/OR HEALTH POLICY: This review provides insight into the factors affecting the work-life balance of nurses and emphasises the need for the involved stakeholders to create strategies including safe-care interventions, flexible working hours and family-friendly policies to enhance nurses' work-life balance.