Effect of Occupational Stress on Work Behavior as Perceived by Nurses at Benue State University Teaching Hospital Makurdi

Abstract

Background: Every work environment, especially in hospital settings must be conducive, friendly, and stress-free in order to promote quality care and the well-being of healthcare workers, whose job demands are increasing by the day. Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived effect of occupational stress on work behavior among nurses at Benue State University Teaching Hospital in Makurdi. Methods: From the facility's population of nurses, a quantitative survey randomly chose 150 respondents nurses, for the purpose of gathering information and testing the hypothesis, a well- developed and validated questionnaire was employed to gather data. Using SPSS, the data were descriptively analyzed, and an inferential analysis with a significance level of 5% was performed using Pearson's Chi-square test (0.05). Results: The majority of participants (56.6%) were men with a higher level of education. This study also shows the effect of occupational stress on work behavior as poor work performance 142 (94.7%), counterproductive work behavior 139 (92.7%), increases the incidence of absenteeism 112 (74.7%), high occurrence of medication error 120 (80%), Negative effect on teamwork 98 (65.3%), increases the incidence of Substance use disorders 95 (63.3), and aggressive attitude toward patients during nursing care 137 (91.3). Furthermore, there is a significant association between occupational stress and job satisfaction (x2 = 25.49, df = 8, and p < 0.001), patient safety (x2 = 51.07, df = 8, and P = 0.002), and nurses' attitudes toward their patients (x2 = 86.67, df = 12, and P = 0.012). Conclusion: We discovered that workplace stress can affect how happy nurses are with their jobs and how they behave while providing nursing care. We recommend that hospital administrators implement a plan to create a stress-free working environment for nurses.