Iran Journal of Nursing

Introduction
Job burnout can reduce the quality of life, performance, and organizational commitment of nurses and increase the intention to leave the job. The level of job burnout in nurses is higher, and the nurses who work in the departments with a high level of stress, such as intensive care unit, pediatrics, and oncology, report a higher level of job burnout. The symptoms of job burnout in nurses include chronic fatigue, emotional instability, headaches, insomnia, and communication problems. Identifying the risk factors of job burnout can facilitate the development of programs for preventing nurses’ job burnout.
Various studies have shown that empowering employees and involving them in decision-making reduces job burnout. The use of empowering behaviors by leaders is essential for having effective teamwork. Effective empowering behaviors of leaders make employees feel empowered, independent, and motivated. Empowered employees can take on more responsibilities and work more effectively. In this regard, supervisors and head nurses play a very important role in empowering nurses. Empowerment is one of the essential functions of nursing management. This study aims to determine the relationship between the empowering behaviors of nursing managers and nurses’ job burnout.

Methods
This descriptive-correlational study was conducted in 2020. The study population includes all nurses working in the special care units (CCU and ICU) of Shahid Rajaee Heart Hospital. Participants were 165 nurses who were selected by a convenience sampling method. The inclusion criterion was at least 6 months of work experience in one of the special care units of Shahid Rajaee Heart Hospital. The empowering leadership questionnaire (ELQ) and the Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) were used to collect data. Of 180 questionnaires distributed among nurses, 165 were fully completed and returned. Data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation test and multiple linear regression analysis in SPSS software, version 24.

Results
The mean age of participants was 36.73±7.20 years, ranged 24-53 years. of 165 participants, 104(63%) were female and 61(37%) were male. Most of the participants (59.4%) were married. Pearson’s correlation coefficients showed a negative significant relationship between the scores of the ELQ dimensions and the scores of MBI domains of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (P<0.001). This indicates that with the increase in the nursing managers’ empowering behaviors, the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores of the nurses decrease. There was a positive significant relationship between the scores of ELQ dimensions and the MBI domain of personal accomplishment (P<0.001). This indicates that with the increase in the nursing managers’ empowering behavior score, the personal accomplishment of nurses increase. 
For predicting the depersonalization, only the number of children was assessed. The depersonalization score of nurses with no children was by 0.842 units higher (B=0.842, 95% CI:-3.273, 4.956; P=0.686) compared to nurses with two or more children.  The depersonalization score of nurses with one child was higher by 3.024 units (B=3.024, 95% CI, 0.559%, 5.488%, P=0.017) compared to nurses with two or more children. The value of the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.367. This indicates that about 37% of the changes in the depersonalization dimension can be explained by the number of children. Marital status and the ELQ dimension of coaching could predict the changes in the nurses’ personal accomplishment by about 43%. Moreover, marital status, number of children, and the ELQ dimensions of participative decision-making and coaching could predict the changes in the emotional exhaustion of nurses by about 49%.

Conclusion
The empowering behaviors of the nursing managers in the study hospital were at a moderate level. The higher use of empowering behaviors by nursing managers can lead to a more decrease in job burnout of nurses in different dimensions. It is recommended that empowerment training sessions be held for supervisors to reduce nurses’ job burnout. 

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center (Code: IR.RHC.REC.1399.091).

Funding
This study was approved by Ethics Committee of Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center (Code: IR.RHC.REC.1399.091). 

Authors' contributions
This article was extracted from the master’s thesis of Mohadeseh Choobani. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the officials and nurses of Shahid Rajaie Heart Hospital.

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