Work Engagement Among Nurses in Turkish Hospitals: Potential Antecedents and Consequences

Year 2012, Volume: 14 Issue: 1, 7 - 24, 01.03.2012

Ronald J. Burke Mustafa Koyuncu Mehmet Tekinkuş Çetin Bektaş Lisa Fıksenbaum

Abstract

This research examined potential antecedents and consequences of work engagement in a sample of nurses employed in hospitals in Turkey. .Data were collected from 224 respondents, a 37% percent response rate, using anonymously completed questionnaires. Engagement was assessed by three scales developed by Schaufeli, Salanova,Gonzalez-Roma, and Bakker (2002): Vigor, Dedication and Absorption. Antecedents included personal demographic and work situation characteristics; consequences included measures of work satisfaction, psychological wellbeing, and perceptions of hospital functioning. The following results were observed. First, engagement, particularlydedication, predicted various work outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, burnout). Second, engagement, particularlyvigor, predicted various psychological well-being outcomes but less strongly than these predicted work outcomes.Third, engagement only predicted one aspect of hospital functioning; nurses reporting higher levels of dedicationalso indicated a higher quality of patient care. Organizations can increase levels of work engagement by creatingsupportive work experiences (e.g., control, rewards and recognition) consistent with effective human resource management practices .But caution must be exercised before employing North American practices in the Turkish context

Keywords

work engagement, nurses employed in hospitals, effective human resource management

References

• Aiken, L. H., Smith, H. L., & Lake, E. T. (1994) Lower medicate mortality among a set of hospitals known for good nursing care. Medical Care, 32, 771-787.
• Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M. & Soc- halski, J. (2001) Nurses’ reports on hos- pital care in five countries. Health Affairs, 20, 343-353.
• Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Soc- halski., J. & Silber, J. H. (2002) Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction. Jo- urnal of the American Medical Associa- tion, 288, 1987-1993.
• Aycan, Z. (2001) Human resource manage- ment in Turkey: Current issues and fu- ture challenges. International Journal of Manpower. 22, 252-260
• Bakker, A. B. (2009) Building engagement in the workplace. In R. J. Burke & C. L. Coo- per (eds.) The peak performing organi- zation. London: Routledge, pp.50-72.
• Bakker, A. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2010) Work en- gagement. London: Psychology Press.
• Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008) Posi- tive organizational behavior: Engaged employees in flourishing organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 147-154.
• Bakker, A B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. W. (2008) Work engagement: An emerging cncept in organizational health psychollgy. Work And /Stress, 22, 187- 200. Barling, J.
• Kelloway, E. K. & Frone, M. R.
• (2005) Handbook of work stress. Thou
• sand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Burke, R. J, & Cooper, C. L (2008) The peak performing organization.
• Burke, R. J, & Cooper, C. L. (2007) Building more effective organizations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Burke, R. J. (2003) Length of shift, work out- comes, and psychological well-being of nursing staff. International Journal of Public Administration, 26, 1637-1646.
• Burke, R.J. (1991) Early work and career expe- riences of female and male managers and professionals: Reasons for optimism? Canadian Journal of Administrative Sci- ences, 8, 224-230.
• Cameron, K. S. (2003) Organizational virtu- ousness and performance. In K.S. Came- ron, J. E. Dutton & R..E. .Quinn (eds.) Positive organizational scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. pp. 48-65.
• Cameron, J., Dutton, J. & Quinn, R.E. (2003) Positive organizational scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
• Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., deJonge, J., Jans- sen, P.P.M., & Schaufeli, W.B. (2001) Bur- nout function of demands and control. Scan- dinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 27, 279-286.
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2003) The value of positive emotions. American Scientist, 91, 330- 335.
• Fredrickson, B. L. (1998) What good are posi- tive emotions? Review of General Psychology, 2, 300-3319.
• Gonzalez-Roma, V., Schaufeli, W.B., Bakker, A.B., & Lloret, S. (2006) Burnout and work engagement: Independent factors or opposite poles? Journal of Vocational Behavior, 68, 165-174.
• Hakanen, J.J., Bakker, A.B., Demerouti, E. (2005) How dentists cope with their job demands and stay engaged: the modera- ting role of job resources. European Jo- urnal of Oral Science, 113, 479-487.
• Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L (2002) Business-unit level relationship between employee satisfaction, emplo- yee engagement and business outcomes: A meta-analysis,. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 268-279.
• Havens, D. S.,. & Aiken,L. H. (1999) Shaping systems to promote desired outcomes: The magnet hospital model. Journal of Nursing Administration, 29, 14-20.
• Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publicati- ons.
• Jackson, S. A., & Marsh, H. W. (1996) Deve- lopment and validation of a scale to mea- sure optimal experience: The flow State Scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 18, 17-35.
• Kahn, W.A. (1992) To be fully there; Psycho- logical presence at work. Human Relati- ons, 45, 321-349.
• Katzenbach, J.R. (2000) Peak performance: Aligning the hearts and minds of your employees. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Kramer, M. (1990) The magnet hospitals: Ex- cellence revisited. Journal of Nursing Ad- ministration, 20, 25-30.
• Langelaan, S., Bakker, A.B., van Doornen, L.J.P., & Schaufeli, W.B. (2006) Burnout and work engagement: Do individual differences make a difference? Persona- lity and Individual Differences, 40, 521- 532.
• Laschinger, , H. K. S. & Leiter, M. P. (206) The impact of nursing work environments on patient safety outcomes: The mediating role of burnout/engagement. Journal of Nursing Administration, 5, 259-267.
• Lawler, E E. (2008) Talent: Making people your competitive advantage. San Fran- cisco: Jossey Bass. Lawler, E.E. (2003) Treat people right. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.
• Leiter, M.P. (2005) Engagement with work: Is- sues for measurement and intervention. In R.J. Burke & C.L. Cooper (eds.) The human resources revolution: Why put- ting people first matters. Oxford; Els- evier, pp. 213-230.
• Leiter, M. P., &Laschinger, H. K. S. (2006) a work environment to support professio- nal nursing practice: Implications for burnout. Nursing Research, 55, 137-146.
• Luthans, F. (2002) Positive organizational be- havior: Developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 57-72.
• Macey, W. H., & Schneider, B. (2008) The mea- ning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 3-30.
• Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E., & Leiter, M.P. (1996) Maslach Burnout Inventory, 3rd, ed. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psycholo- gists Press.
• Mauno, S., Pykko, M., & Hakanen, J. (2005) The prevalence and antecedents of work engagement in three different organiza- tions. Psykologia, 40, 16-30.
• May, D.R., Gilson, R.L., & Harter, L.M. (2004) The psychological conditions of mea- ningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work. Journal of Occupational and Or- ganizational Psychology, 77, 11-37.
• Montgomery, A.J., Peeters, M.C.W., Schaufeli, W.B., & Den Ouden, M. (2003) Work- home interference among newspaper managers: Its relationship with burnout and engagement. Anxiety, Stress & Co- ping: An International Journal, 16, 195- 211
• Myers, D. G. (2000) The funds, friends and faith of happy people. American Psycho- logist, 55, 56-67.
• Peterson, C.M., & Seligman, M. F. P. (2003) Po- sitive organizational studies: Lessons from positive psychology. In K. s. Came- ron, J. E. Dutton & R. E. Quinn (eds.) Po- sitive organizational scholarship. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. pp. 14-28.
• Pfeffer, J. (1994) Competitive advantage thro- ugh people. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Pfeffer, J. (1998) The human equation: Buil- ding profits by putting people first. Bos- ton: Harvard Business School Press.
• Quinn, R.P. & Shepard, L.J. (1974) The 1972- 73 Quality of Employment Survey, Ann Arbor, MI: Institute Social Research, Uni- versity of Michigan.
• Salanova, M., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008) A cross-national study of work engage- ment as a mediator between job resour- ces and proactive behavior. International Journal of Human Resources Manage- ment, 129, 116-131.
• Salanova, M., Agut, S. & Peiro, J.M. (2005) Lin- king organizational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: The mediation of service climate. Psychology, 96, 1217-1227.
• Schabracq, M.. J., Winnubst, J. A. M., & Coo- per, C. L. (2003) The handbook of work and health psychology. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley.
• Schaufelif, W. B. & Salanova, M., (2008) En- hancing work engagement through the management of human resources. pp. 380- 402.
• Schaufeli, W. B., & Salanova, M., (2007) Work engagement: An emerging psychological concept and its implications for organi- zations. In S. W.Gillilalnd, S, W,.Steiner & D. P. Skarlicki (eds). Managing social and ethical issues in organizations. Gre- enwich,CT: Information Age Publishing. pp. 135-177.
• Schaufeli, W.B. & Bakker, A.B. (2004b) Job de- mands, job resources, and their relati- onship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study. Journal of Organi- zational Behavior, 25, 293-515.
• Schaufeli, W.B. & Bakker, A.B. (2004a) Work engagement and the measurement of a concept. Gedrag-en-Organisatie, 17, 89- 112.
• Schaufeli, W.B., Bakker, A. & Salanova, M. (2006) The measurement of work enga- gement with a short questionnaire: a cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20, 1-16.
• Schaufeli, W.B., Martinez, I .M., Marques- Pinto, A., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A.B. (2003) Burnout and engagement in uni- versity students: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 464-481.
• Schaufeli, W.B., Salanova, M., Gonzalez- Roma, V., & Bakker, A.B. (2002) The mea- surement of engagement and burnout: A two simple confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71-92.
• Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000) Positive psychology: An introduc- tion. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.
• Seppala, P., Mauno, S., Feldt, T., Hakanen, J., Kinnunen, U., Tolvanen, A., & Schaufeli, W. (2008) The construct validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale: Multi- sample and longitudinal evidence. Jour- nal of Happiness Studies, 10, 459-481.
• Sirota, D., Mischkind, L.A., & Meltzer, M.I. (2005) The enthusiastic employee: How companies profit by giving workers what they want. Philadelphia, PA: Wharton School Publishing.
• Sisodia, R., Wolfe, D. B., & Sheth, J. (2007) Firms of endearment: How world-class companies profit from passion and pur- pose. Philadelphia: Wharton School Pub- lishing
• Turner, N., Barling J., & Zacharatos, A. (2002) Positive psychology at work. In C. Snyder & S. Lopez (eds.) The handbook of positive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 715-730.
• Ulrich, D. (1997) Human resource champions. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Vahey, D. C., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D.M., Clarke, S.P., & Vargas. D. (2004) Nurse burnout and patient satisfaction. Medical Care, 42, 1157-1166.
• Wanous, J. P., & Hudy, M. (2001) Single-item reliability: A replication and extension. Organizational Research Methods, 4, 361-375.
• Wasti, S. A. (1998) Cultural barriers in the transferability of Japanese and American human resources practices to developing countries: The Turkish case. International Journal of Human Resources Manage- ment,9, 608-631.
• Watson, DE., Clarke, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988) Development and validation of brie measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Per- sonality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063- 1070.
• Zeytinoglu, I. U., Denton, M., Davies, s. Bau- mann, A., Blythe, J., & Boos, L (2007) De- teriorated external work environment, heavy workload and nurses’ job satisfac- tion and turnover intention. Canadian: Public Policy, 33, S31-S47.
• Zohar, D., & Luria, G. (2005) A multi-level model of safety climate: Cross-level rela- tionships between organizations and group-level climates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 616-628.