OCCUPATION AND HEALTH ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (9): 1174-1178.

• Treatise • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis on mediating role of boundary elasticity in the relationship between work-family conflict and occupational burnout among orthopedic nurses

CHAI Juan, GUAN Xiaoyan, LI Guojuan, LU Lingna   

  1. Shanghai Fengxian District Central Hospital,Shanghai 201406,China
  • Received:2025-07-09 Revised:2025-08-01 Online:2026-05-01 Published:2026-05-22

Abstract:

Objective To investigate the boundary flexibility,work-family conflict and occupational burnout of orthopedic nurses,analyze the mediating role of boundary flexibility between work-family conflict and occupational burnout of orthopedic nurses,and provide objective evidence for improving the level of occupational burnout of orthopedic nurses and improving the efficiency of clinical nursing work. Methods From January to February 2025,183 orthopedic nurses from 9 grade-A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai City were selected as the survey subjects by convenient sampling method. The boundary flexibility scale,work-family conflict scale and occupational burnout scale were used to investigate the boundary flexibility,work-family conflict and occupational burnout of orthopedic nurses,and the data were analyzed. Results The boundary flexibility score of orthopedic nurses was (28.76±4.32)points,the work-family conflict score was (57.48±16.36)points,and the job burnout score was (60.76±12.28)points. The job burnout scores of orthopedic nurses with different ages,professional titles,clinical nursing working hours,average monthly income,and average monthly number of shifts were compared,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05). The boundary flexibility score of orthopedic nurses was negatively correlated with the job burnout score(r=-0.532,P<0.01),the work-family conflict score was positively correlated with the job burnout score(r=0.628,P<0.01),and the boundary flexibility score was negatively correlated with the work-family conflict score(r=-0.519,P<0.01). Boundary flexibility partially mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job burnout of orthopedic nurses,with a mediating effect value of 0.314,accounting for 43.01% of the total effect. Conclusion Job burnout and work-family conflict of orthopedic nurses are both at a high level,and work-family conflict can directly promote or indirectly affect their job burnout through boundary flexibility. Hospitals should improve the boundary flexibility of orthopedic nurses,reduce work-family conflict,and thus reduce job burnout.

Key words: Orthopedic nurses, Boundary flexibility, Work-family conflict, Job burnout, Mediating role, Correlation

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