This study investigates the impact of workplace stress on nurses’ performance in public hospitals within Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. It identifies key stressors such as work overload, workplace relationships, role conflict, and role ambiguity, and highlights the need for effective management of these factors to enhance nurse productivity. Using Cooper and Palmer’s work stress model, the study links these stressors to employee performance and organizational consequences. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, with 311 nurses selected via proportionate stratified sampling from a population of 1071. Data was collected using a modified version of Rizzo’s structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 25. The findings revealed that work overload positively affects productivity (β=0.441, p<0.05), while role conflicts (β=-0.080, p<0.05) and role ambiguity (β=-0.0900, p<0.05) negatively affect performance. Positive workplace relationships were also found to enhance productivity (β =0.044, p<0.05). The study concludes that workplace stress significantly impacts nurses’ performance and recommends regular monitoring of workloads, fostering a positive work environment, and providing feedback opportunities to boost morale and motivation despite role conflicts. Leadership was examined as a moderating variable to gauge its influence on the stress-performance relationship.
Keywords: Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Public Hospitals, nurses’ performance, workplace stress
