Work stress and shift work as key factors associated with burnout among critical care and emergency nurses: A Cross-sectional study

Introduction: Burnout among nurses is an important occupational health concern because persistent physical and emotional exhaustion may compromise work performance, quality of care, and patient safety. Workload, work-related stress, and shift work are frequently considered important occupational determinants of burnout, particularly among nurses working in high-intensity clinical units. This study aimed to examine the associations of workload, work stress, and shift work with burnout among nurses at Jaury Jusuf Putera Academic Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia. Research Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 36 nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department. Total sampling was applied. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using the Chi-square test. Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were derived from the reported 2×2 contingency tables to describe the magnitude of associations. Results: Of the 36 nurses, 19 (52.8%) experienced high burnout. High workload was not significantly associated with burnout (OR = 2.45; 95% CI: 0.64–9.37; p = 0.187). Nurses with moderate work stress had substantially higher odds of high burnout than those with mild stress (OR = 9.00; 95% CI: 1.97–41.08; p = 0.003). Shift work was also significantly associated with burnout (p = 0.047); nurses classified in the high-shift category had lower crude odds of high burnout than those in the low-shift category (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.06–1.01). Conclusion: Work stress and shift work were significantly associated with burnout, whereas workload was not. Hospital management should prioritize stress-management strategies, adequate recovery periods, and evidence-based shift scheduling to reduce occupational burnout and support nurses’ well-being and service quality.