Sources of stress, burnout, and career decisions of male health and nursing professionals: A qualitative inquiry of the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The human resources and workforce shortage of registered health and nursing professionals has been a long-term problem in health systems internationally, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many health and nursing professionals face stress and burnout, which may influence their career decisions and long-term human resources development. The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand the relationship(s) between sources of stress and the reasons why male health and nursing professionals decide to leave the profession within the next six months. With the employment of the social cognitive career and motivation theory and general inductive approach with 40 male health and nursing professionals, the results outlined personal considerations: my physical and mental health conditions, surrounding environments and individuals: pressure from my co-workers, and political considerations: unsupportive government policies, were categorized. The study provides recommendations to healthcare leadership, government agencies, human resources planners, and researchers to establish sustainable human resources strategies to solve the ongoing and long-term workforce shortage internationally.