The relation between nurses’ shift work and their relationships with family and friends

Introduction
The shift work system is the main work mode in healthcare facilities.

Aim of the study
To determine the correlation between shift work and relations with family and friends.

Material and methods
The research was conducted among 300 female and male nurses of the Chopin Clinical Provincial Hospital No. 1 in Rzeszów. 164 sheets that were completed in accordance with the instructions were obtained. The research used the diagnostic survey method, which was carried out using a survey technique developed by the author, consisting of 13 questions. The survey questionnaire focused on learning the respondents’ opinions on the consequences of shift work. Statistical programs were used for statistical calculations: SPSS 2.0, MS Excel, c2 distribution tables and Tau b Kendall statistical tests. The significance level of p < 0.05 was assumed for the dependence study.

Results
More respondents from the surgical ward than from the conservative ward believe that shift work affects the relationships with family/friends. There is a correlation between work experience and the subjective sensation of irritability after a night shift compared to other days: with increasing work experience the sense of irritability increases.

Conclusions
Shift work has negative consequences in the form of the impoverishment of personal life. That this may be affected by irritability and the difficulty of undertaking everyday household activities. The workplace of respondents is related to their relationship with family and friends. Underestimation of the nursing profession associated with modest salaries causes reluctance to maintain good relationships with family and friends.