Social comparison and perceived envy-motivated communication involving travel nurses: A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study investigated travel nurses' perception of their communication and relational experiences with other nurses. BACKGROUND: It is common for nurses to offer and to accept help, especially since nurses enter and exit numerous nursing teams throughout their careers and sometimes several times within a single shift. The social norm of reciprocity suggests that nurses supported by other nurses will likely reciprocate in prosocial behaviour. However, when and whom one can or will help highlight differences in individuals' ability to share and compete for personal and professional resources. METHOD: Thematic analysis on data collected through semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Four categories of perceived envy-motivated communication conceptualize nurses' communication and relational experiences. CONCLUSION: This study underscores the pervasiveness of social comparison and perceived envy-motivated communication among nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Nurse managers should explore how they might leverage social comparison and the effects of envy to improve unit productivity. One strategy that nurse managers might adopt to promote fairness perception and trust is to communicate expressly how they allocate resources to their nurses. A sequential strategy to level the gap in nurses' exposure to different ways of overcoming resource deficiencies is to encourage mutual learning as prosocial behaviour.