Nature, predictors, and outcomes of nurses’ affect profiles: A longitudinal examination

This study addresses the lack of organizational research considering the functionality of employees’ work-related affective experiences. More precisely, this research relied on person-centered analyses to gain a better understanding of the various configurations taken by the intensity and direction (i.e., seen as facilitating performance, or as interfering with it) of positive and negative affect among nurses. We also documented the stability of these profiles over time and their longitudinal associations with theoretically relevant predictors (job demands and resources) and outcomes (somatic complaints and musculoskeletal disorders). Questionnaires were completed twice, three months apart, by a sample of 1143 French nurses. Five distinct affective profiles were identified, and found to be rather stable over time. Nurses' perceptions of their job demands and resources showed well-differentiated patterns of associations with these profiles. Finally, nurses' levels of somatic complaints and musculoskeletal disorders were more pronounced among nurses corresponding to a profile dominated by high levels of negative affect seen as interfering with performance. Overall, our results emphasize the importance of jointly considering affect intensity and direction, their combinations, and the role played by job characteristics, in order to understand the development of physical health problems among nurses.