ObjectiveTo investigate the current status of emotional labor and work engagement of emergency nurses, explore the correlation between the two, and analyze the factors affecting work engagement.

MethodsFrom February to March 2019, 284 nurses in emergency departments from 20 public hospitals in Anhui province were selected using the convenience sampling method, and the nurses were investigated using the general data questionnaires, emotional labor questionnaire and Utrecht work engagement scale.The Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the two, and the hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting work engagement.

ResultsThe total score of emotional labor, average score of emotional labor, surface acting score, deep acting score, emotional expression requirement score and total work engagement score in 284 emergency nurses were(38.74±8.21), (2.76±0.59), (24.49±7.03), (14.25±2.93), (14.31±4.72) and(62.62±19.30) points, respectively.The scores of vitality, dedication and concentration in 284 emergency nurses were(24.90±8.25), (18.01±5.71), and(19.71±6.69) points, respectively.There was a positive correlation between emotional labor and work engagement in emergency nurses(P < 0.01).The level of work engagement of emergency formal nurses was higher than that of contract nurses(P < 0.01).The deep acting dimension of emotional labor could independently explain the 14.8% of total variation of work engagement of nurses in emergency department(P < 0.01).

ConclusionsBoth emotional labor and work engagement of emergency nurses are at medium level.The nursing managers should fully realize the importance of emotional labor, and take targeted training for emergency nurses from the perspective of deep acting, so as to improve their work engagement level and mobilize the energy, dedication and concentration of emergency nurses.