Hunger Breeds Discontentment: The Relation of Organisational Atmosphere on Emotional Eating Among Nurses and Mediating Role of Workplace Loneliness

ABSTRACT Aims This study aimed to investigate the interrelationship between organisational climate, workplace loneliness and emotional eating among nurses. Design A cross‐sectional study Data collection involved several validated instruments: a general information questionnaire to capture demographic and professional details, an organisational climate scale to assess the work environment, a workplace loneliness scale to measure feelings of isolation and an emotional eating scale to evaluate the extent of eating behaviours driven by emotional distress. Methods The research was conducted in March 2024, involving 385 clinical nurses from a large comprehensive hospital in Nanjing, China. The study employed instruments including general information questionnaires, organisational climate scales, workplace loneliness scales and emotional eating scales. The collected data were analysed utilising SPSS 22.0, AMOS 24.0 software and Bootstrap text for mediating effects. Results The analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between organisational climate and workplace loneliness, as well as between organisational climate and emotional eating. Additionally, a strong positive correlation was found between workplace loneliness and emotional eating. Conversely, the direct effect of organisational climate on emotional eating was not significant. These findings suggest that workplace loneliness fully mediates the relationship between organisational climate and emotional eating. Conclusion Workplace loneliness mediates the relationship between organisational climate and emotional eating among nurses. To address this issue, it is recommended that nursing managers implement effective strategies to enhance the organisational climate and reduce workplace loneliness. Impact The research aims to alleviate emotional eating and promote the physical and mental well‐being of nurses. Patient or Public Contribution No patient or public contribution.