Psychological safety, social support, and commitment among nurse managers: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

While the experience of psychological safety among nursing staff has been studied, there needs to be more research on the perceived psychological safety of nurse managers. Generally, nurse managers are committed to their work, but the COVID-19 pandemic increased their intentions to leave. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between psychological safety, social support, and commitment among nurse managers. The data were collected in 2023 through a web-based survey from Finnish social and healthcare workers’ trade union members. Of the 4573 participants, this study further focused on 366 nurse managers and are reported in accordance with the STROBE checklist. Findings revealed that nurse managers’ perceived psychological safety was higher than among other workers. Nurse managers in public healthcare perceived lower psychological safety than managers in private and third sectors. A mediation model showed that social support partly mediated the positive effect of psychological safety on commitment. A psychologically safe environment enables more social support, thus enhancing the commitment. Dedicated nurse managers play a crucial role as a fundamental asset within the healthcare system.