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COVID-19 and job demands and resources experienced by nurses in Sri Lanka

Author

Listed:
  • Shalini Dananja Wanninayake
  • Michael O’Donnell
  • Sue Williamson

Abstract

Sri Lanka has a history of successfully managing communicable diseases by utilising its extensive public healthcare network of community clinics and public hospitals. This article makes use of Job Demands-Resources theory (JD-R) to examine the impact of COVID-19 on nurses’ working conditions in public and private hospitals in Sri Lanka. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses’ job demands on public hospital wards included long working hours, limited workplace autonomy, minimal medical resources and high workloads caused by understaffing. Private hospital nurses experienced pressure from patients and their families to provide them with discounts on medical bills. Nurses allocated to work on COVID-19 wards experienced additional physical job demands from wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for lengthy periods on hospital wards in a humid climate. Nurses on COVID-19 wards also experienced increased anxiety that they could transmit the disease to family members. While nurses experienced job resources such as social support from nursing supervisors and other nurses, they reported receiving minimal training in the provision of healthcare to COVID-19 patients. This combination of high job demands and low job resources increased the levels of exhaustion and mental distress experienced by many nurses working on COVID-19 hospital wards. JEL codes H51, H54, J24, J45, O15

Suggested Citation

  • Shalini Dananja Wanninayake & Michael O’Donnell & Sue Williamson, 2022. "COVID-19 and job demands and resources experienced by nurses in Sri Lanka," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 100-116, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:33:y:2022:i:1:p:100-116
    DOI: 10.1177/10353046221077509
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anliu Nie & Xiangfen Su & Shuzeng Zhang & Wenjie Guan & Jianfeng Li, 2020. "Psychological impact of COVID‐19 outbreak on frontline nurses: A cross‐sectional survey study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(21-22), pages 4217-4226, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; healthcare; nurses; job demands; job resources; Sri Lanka;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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