Impact of work aspects on communication, emotional intelligence and empathy in nursing

ABSTRACT Objective: to assess the impact of the type of contract and seniority of nursing staff on their attitudes towards communication, emotional intelligence and empathy. Methods: the instruments measuring attitudes towards communication, empathy and emotional intelligence. The study sample was composed of 450 nurses from 7 hospitals. To explore the effect of the variables studied, one-factor ANOVA test, Pearson correlations and hierarchical multiple linear regression models were performed according to the type of contract. Results: there are statistically significant differences between the variables studied according to the type of contract. More specifically, the nursing staff with permanent contract showed higher scores in the cognitive dimension of the scale attitudes towards communication. Likewise, the highest correlations were found among the dimensions of attitudes towards communication in all the groups. At the same time, seniority was positively related to emotional intelligence in the interim and negatively related to empathy in the permanent contract. Finally, regarding the regression models, it was observed that the perspective taken is the main predictor of each dimension of attitudes towards communication in all the groups, regardless of the type of contract. Conclusion: positive working conditions (job security, permanent contract and seniority) have been found to influence the communication skills in the patient-nurse relationship. RESUMEN Objetivo: determinar el impacto del tipo de contrato y la antigüedad del personal de enfermería en sus actitudes hacia la comunicación, la inteligencia emocional y la empatía. Métodos: los instrumentos que miden las actitudes hacia la comunicación, la empatía y la inteligencia emocional. La muestra del estudio fue de 450 enfermeras de 7 hospitales. Para comprobar el efecto de las variables estudiadas, se realizaron ANOVA de un factor, correlaciones Pearson y modelos de regresión lineal jerárquica múltiple, según el tipo de contrato. Resultados: existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las variables estudiadas según el tipo de contrato. Más concretamente, el personal de enfermería con contrato indefinido mostró puntuaciones más altas en la dimensión cognitiva de la escala actitudes hacia la comunicación. Asimismo, las mayores correlaciones se encontraron entre las dimensiones de la escala actitudes hacia la comunicación en todos los grupos. Al mismo tiempo, la antigüedad se relacionab