The influence of workplace incivility on the fatigue of female nurses: The mediating effect of engagement

Aims To identify the associations of workplace incivility, engagement and fatigue among Chinese female nurses, and further explore whether engagement can play a mediating role. Background Nurses are at a high risk of fatigue. However, no research has been done to examine the associations among nurses' workplace incivility, engagement and fatigue. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted in Jiangsu Province, China. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 1200 female nurses, including The Fatigue Scale, Workplace Incivility Scale, Gallup Workplace Questionnaire and demographic variables. Valid responses were obtained from 1035 (86.3%) of participants. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the associations among workplace incivility, engagement and fatigue. Results The mean fatigue score was 6.54 +/- 3.07. Workplace incivility and engagement were related to fatigue (P < .01). Engagement partly mediated the association between workplace incivility and fatigue (a*b = 0.086, bias-corrected 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.059, 0.116; P < .01), and the proportion of the mediating effect accounted for by engagement was 33.0%. Conclusion Chinese female nurses suffered from high level of fatigue. The improvement of female nurses' engagement may be helpful to alleviate the impact of workplace incivility on fatigue. Implications for Nursing Management Managers should reduce workplace incivility of female nurses by promoting engagement to reduce fatigue.