title: Relational job characteristics and nurses' affective organizational commitment: the mediating role of work engagement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study work engagement as a mediator of the associations between relational job characteristics and nurses' affective commitment to the hospital.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Earlier research has shown that work engagement mediates the relationship between job resources and affective organizational commitment. However, relational job characteristics, which may be job resources, have not been studied or examined in relation to work engagement and affective organizational commitment in the nursing profession.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study uses a correlational survey design and an online survey for data collection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data for this correlational study were collected by survey over months (2013) from a sample of 335 hospital nurses. Measures included Portuguese translations of the Relational Job Characteristics' Psychological Effects Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Affective Organizational Commitment Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data analysis supports a full mediation model where relational job characteristics explained affective commitment to the hospital through nurses' work engagement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Relational job characteristics contribute to nurses' work engagement, which in turn contributes to affective organizational commitment.
authors.affiliation: School of Health, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal.
authors.forename: Alda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chambel
authors.affiliation: Nova School of Business and Economics, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Castanheira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D010558:Personnel Loyalty; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011174:Portugal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: affective organizational commitment; nurses; relational job characteristics; work engagement