How the Approaches of Managing Conflict With Patients Affect Nurse Emotional Exhaustion and Life Satisfaction: A Time‐Lagged Three‐Wave Survey

ABSTRACT Aim(s) To explore whether nurses' use of different approaches to manage patient mistreatment can exert distinctive effects on their emotional exhaustion and life satisfaction, and to examine whether supervisor support can mitigate the negative effects of emotional exhaustion on nurses' life satisfaction. Design A time‐lagged three‐wave survey study with a 2‐week time interval was conducted in 2022. Methods A total of 257 nurses from a Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited general hospital located in eastern China in 2022 completed three‐wave surveys. Descriptive analyses, confirmatory factor analyses and mediation and moderated mediation analyses were performed. Data Sources Data were collected by using three‐wave self‐reported questionnaires from 257 nurses from a Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited general hospital located in eastern China in 2022. Results Nurses who managed patient mistreatment more cooperatively experienced lower levels of emotional exhaustion, whereas those who managed patient mistreatment more competitively experienced higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion was negatively related to life satisfaction. Moreover, emotional exhaustion mediated the positive and negative relationships between cooperative and competitive conflict management approaches and overall life satisfaction. Additionally, supervisor support mitigated the negative impact of emotional exhaustion on life satisfaction and the indirect effects of conflict management approaches on life satisfaction. Conclusion To effectively manage the negative impact of patient mistreatment on nurses, both nurses themselves and their supervisors play an important role. Nurses who adopt a cooperative conflict management approach experience lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher levels of life satisfaction. Supervisor support can alleviate the negative effect of emotional exhaustion on life satisfaction. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care The findings provide a better understanding for nurses on how to mitigate the detrimental effects of patient mistreatment on nurses and highlight the role of both nurses themselves and their supervisors in protecting nurses' well‐being. Patient or Public Contribution No patient or public contributed to the design or conduct of the study, analysis or interpretation of the data, or in the preparation of the manuscript.