Effect of time pressure on the burnout of home-visiting nurses: The moderating role of relational coordination with nursing managers

Aim To examine the main effects of time pressure and relational coordination with nursing managers on burnout and to further analyze the moderating role of relational coordination with nursing managers on the association between time pressure and burnout among home-visiting nurses in Japan. Methods This was a cross-sectional, quantitative study comprising 93 home-visiting nurses in Japan. A hierarchical moderated regression analysis with mean-centered predictor variables was used to explore the main effects of time pressure and relational coordination with nursing managers on burnout and the moderating effect of relational coordination with nursing managers on the time pressure and burnout relationship. Results Time pressure was a significant positive predictor for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, respectively. Relational coordination with the nursing managers was significantly and negatively related to depersonalization; however, its main effect on exhaustion was non-significant. Significant interaction effects of time pressure and relational coordination with the nursing managers on exhaustion and depersonalization also were identified. Time pressure was a significant positive contributor to exhaustion and depersonalization when the home-visiting nurses reported low relational coordination with the nursing managers. Conclusion Relational coordination with nursing managers is a critical resource for dealing with high time pressure. Strategies, such as establishing a skill-mix program to alleviate nurses' time pressure and creating a supportive work environment to facilitate relational coordination with nursing managers, might be effective ways to prevent burnout, as well as management interventions among home-visiting nurses.