Abstract

The present study explores the relation between professional burnout and reasoning in nurses. Two quantitative studies tested the following predictions: high levels of burnout should lead nurses to professional decisions based on a limited number of reasons (Study 1) and to judge disengagement decisions as positive (Study 2).The results reveal that exhausted nurses do not rely on the code of ethics for their profession to support their professional decisions (Study 1), and judge disengagement decisions as positive choices to face challenging work contexts (Study 2). The results of the study suggest the importance of delivering interventions that can raise nurses’ awareness of how occupational burnout might a) weaken their sensibility to the code of ethics for their profession, and b) increase their likelihood to be involved in disengaging behaviors. Furthermore, the results highlight the need to implement functional strategies to decision-making processes in professional complex environments.