Psychological resilience in New Zealand registered nurses: The role of workplace characteristics

Aim: To investigate the impact of workplace factors on psychological resilience in registered nurses. Background: Nursing is characterized by persistent workplace adversity. Psychological resilience has been postulated as a means to mitigate the effects of workplace adversity. There is little research that examines the role of workplace factors (i.e., practice environment and bullying) in shaping resilience. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 480 registered New Zealand nurses. Psychological resilience was self-reported using the CD-RISC-10, while practice environment and workplace bullying were self-reported using PES-NWI and NAQ-R, respectively. Results: For every point increase in PES-NWI and NAQ-R, there was an increase of 2.84 points (95%CI = 1.79, 3.89; p-value = <0.001) and a decrease of 0.07 points (95% CI = −0.12, −0.03; p-value = 0.002) in resilience, after controlling for demographic and job-related characteristics. These two factors explained for 12.6% of the variation in resilience. About 25.8% of registered nurses experienced bullying. Conclusion: Workplace factors are associated with psychological resilience in registered nurses. Implications for Nursing Management: Nurse managers are key to transforming health care work environments to promote positive outcomes for nurses, the organisation and patient outcomes. Future efforts to promote psychological resilience in registered nurses need to enhance the practice environment and reduce workplace bullying. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd