Leader Empowering Behaviors and Psychological Empowerment as Perceived by Young Hospital Staff Nurses: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Empowerment has become an important concept in nursing that has gained acknowledgment in theories and practice of leadership and management. A positive organization espouses empowerment to attract and retain employees. While it is not new to nursing, there is little published research on empowerment among nurses in the Philippines. This study aimed to measure young staff nurses’ perception of leader empowering behaviors and psychological empowerment.Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey design participated by 44 conveniently chosen staff nurses in a private teaching and training hospital in Iloilo City, Philippines. The participants were asked to answer 5-point Likert scale questions utilizing adopted instruments. Descriptive and non-parametric statistical stools were used with Mann-Whitney U test to determine differences and Spearman’s rank correlation to establish relationship between variables.Results: Overall, young staff nurses perceived their leaders’ behaviors to be highly empowering (M=3.89). Staff nurses also had a high level of psychological empowerment (M=4.07). Leader empowering behaviors was significantly related to staff nurses’ perception of psychological empowerment (p=.001). Staff nurses’ level of psychological empowerment were significantly different in terms of employment status (p=.020) and years of work experience (p=.014).Conclusion: This study highlights the positive influence of the empowering behaviors of leaders in enhancing staff nurses’ level of psychological empowerment. It is vital for nurse managers to continually demonstrate leadership behaviors that empower staff nurses at the unit level.

Ethical leadership, psychological empowerment and caring behavior from the nurses’ perspective

“…65 One of the essential functions of nursing leadership is staff empowerment to create a productive workplace culture for quality and safe care. 68 Our results showed that nurses' perceptions of their managers as ethical leaders increases the PE and dimensions of "impact", meaning, and trust. These results are consistent with the findings of other studies.…”

“…Moreover, the results indicated that nurses' CB was at a desirable level which are congruent with previous studies. 59–63 Nurses' actions and competencies are considered as moral virtues and modulators of CBs, although there are challenges in practice. Similar to other studies, 3 most nurses emphasized technical activities of care.…”

“…This is consistent with previous research that shows empowerment and creating opportunities for professional development will improve the quality of health care. 56,68 Empowered nurses are more inclined to do positive practice that lead to positive outcomes for patients. 68…”

Relationships between core self-evaluation, leader empowering behavior, and job security among Jordan University Hospital nurses

“…LEB is a dynamic process that allows leaders or supervisors to delegate responsibility, authority, and autonomy toward their employees to enhance their self-control and self-management [ 10 ]. LEB mainly involves the cultivation of personal skills, the encouragement of innovation, and the sharing of information among staff nurses [ 11 ]. LEB among nurses reduces burnout levels and turnover intention [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Developing Psychological Empowerment and Patient Safety Culture: A Pre-experimental Study

“…It is necessary to develop UCNs' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, practices, and perceptions about patient safety. In the literature, it is emphasized that UCNs influence the nurses they work with through the transfer of knowledge, skills, and behaviors (6) and the UCNs who are empowered on a particular subject also empower the nurses with whom they work (7). Staff nurses, who provide the closest level of healthcare services to patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week, account for the largest workforce in health care institutions and are thus, an essential workforce in changing or reestablishing PSC.…”