The impact of staff nurse empowerment on person-job fit and work engagement/burnout.
Workplace empowerment is an important strategy for creating positive nursing work environments in a time of a severe nursing shortage. The purpose of this study was to test a model linking staff nurse perceptions of empowerment to their perceived fit with 6 areas of work life and work engagement/burnout using Kanter's work empowerment theory. We tested the model in a cross-sectional correlational survey design with a random sample of 322 staff nurses in acute care hospitals across Ontario. Overall, staff nurses perceived their work environment to be only somewhat empowering. Fifty-three percent reported severe levels of burnout. Overall empowerment had an indirect effect on emotional exhaustion (burnout) through nurses' perceived fit in 6 areas of work life. The final model fit statistics revealed a good fit (chi2 = 32.4, df = 13, GFI = 0.97, IFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.07). These findings have important implications in the current nursing shortage.
Laschinger
Heather K Spence
HK
School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. hkl@uwo.ca
Wong
Carol A
CA
Greco
Paula
P
D000208:Acute Disease / Q000451:nursing; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008960:Models, Psychological; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology; D015279:Organizational Culture; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D011209:Power, Psychological; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012201:Reward; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology