Sense of Community, Occupational Self-Efficacy, and Burnout among Nurses

Burnout among healthcare workers, especially nurses, has become a serious concern worldwide, affecting the quality of care and the health of both patients and staff. Research suggests that feeling part of a supportive community and believing in one’s professional abilities can help protect against job burnout. This study examined how nurses’ sense of belonging to an online social media group within their workplace relates to their occupational self-efficacy and their experience of burnout. Data were collected from 135 nurses who participated in a Facebook community of the largest healthcare organization in Israel. They completed questionnaires assessing their sense of community, occupational self-efficacy, and burnout. The results showed that nurses who felt a stronger sense of community had higher confidence in their job abilities, which was linked to lower burnout. In other words, the social support from the online group helped increase nurses’ self-confidence, which in turn reduced feelings of burnout. These findings support a model with a good overall fit, emphasizing occupational self-efficacy as a key mechanism through which community belonging influences burnout across its three dimensions. The conclusions highlight the importance of strengthening workplace communities and occupational self-efficacy to support nurses’ mental health. Future studies should further explore how such communities affect the quality of care and consider their impact on other healthcare professionals as well