The mediating role of psychological empowerment in perceptions of decent work and work immersion among Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional study

Decent and Precarious Work Among Nursing and Care Workers: A Mixed-Method Systematic Review

AIM

To identify and describe evidence from original studies on the contextual factors, dimensions, and outcomes of decent and precarious work among nursing and care workers.

DESIGN

This is a mixed-methods systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

The Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and SocINDEX databases were searched on January 11, 2024.

METHODS

Two reviewers independently applied eligibility criteria, selected studies, and conducted quality appraisals. We employed data-based convergent synthesis as the data synthesis method. The dimensions of decent and precarious work were analysed deductively using the Employment Quality Framework.

RESULTS

Five studies on decent work and 13 studies on precarious work were included. Five contextual factors were common, though opposite, in both decent and precarious work studies: employment contract, position, financial situation, age, and work experience. Three outcomes were also common. Decent work increased, and precarious work decreased, physical and mental health and empowerment, whereas turnover was decreased by decent work and increased by precarious work.

CONCLUSIONS

Challenges can be converted into positive outcomes for the future, moving towards meaningful work, fair jobs, sustainable employment policies, and attractive career prospects. To achieve this, more knowledge is needed about employment quality in nursing and care work.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION

Young nurses and care workers should be provided opportunities to fully engage in their work and organisations. Training is also crucial for managers, as it decreases authoritarian and controlling management practices.

IMPACT

This review is the first to synthesise research evidence on decent and precarious work in nursing and care work, confirming that they are opposite concepts of employment quality. The results benefit nurses and care workers, organisations, and decision-makers.

REPORTING METHOD

The study was reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No Patient or Public Contribution.

Unveiling nurses' perspectives on decent work: A qualitative exploration

AIM

This study explores nurses' perspectives on the concept of "decent work" and the factors influencing their viewpoints.

DESIGN

This qualitative study employed a conventional content analysis approach using face-to-face interviews.

METHODS

In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 registered nurses at two tertiary hospitals in Hangzhou, China, from October to November 2023.

FINDINGS

Decent work for nurses refers to their engagement in a profession within a secure, fair, and friendly practice environment where they could receive respect, support, reasonable compensation, social security, and opportunities for career development, all of which could enable nurses to recognize their intrinsic values and achieve a state of professional and personal fulfillment. Key factors that influence decent work for nurses include the work environment, societal perceptions, and individual characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

The concept of decent work holds paramount importance for nurses, necessitating collaborative efforts at the individual, family, institutional, and societal levels to promote the professional dignity of nurses and enhance the quality of nursing care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Policymakers should establish regional minimum wage standards for nurses, promote flexible scheduling, and support professional development through subsidized training programs. Additionally, national media campaigns and comprehensive mental health support can enhance the public image and resilience of nurses, respectively, improving their decent work perception.

Effort-reward imbalance and well-being among psychiatric nurses: the mediating role of burnout and decent work

BACKGROUND

Psychiatric nurses face additional challenges due to negative perceptions, workplace violence, and a lack of respect, impacting their well-being and job satisfaction, which are crucial for improving psychiatric care and patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to examine the relationship between effort-reward imbalance, well-being, burnout, and decent work among psychiatric nurses.

METHODS

This study used a cross-sectional design. Data were collected using a convenience sampling method in February 2024 from 397 psychiatric nurses at two psychiatric hospitals in Hangzhou and Huzhou, Zhejiang Province. The Effort-Reward Imbalance Scale, Decent Work Perception Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, and General Well-Being Schedule Scale were used for data collection. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 and the PROCESS macro.

RESULTS

The study found that effort-reward imbalance among psychiatric nurses was negatively correlated with decent work (r = -0.564, p < 0.001) and well-being (r = -0.541, p < 0.001), and positively correlated with burnout (r = 0.603, p < 0.001). Burnout mediated the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and well-being (95% CI [-0.386, -0.257]), while decent work also served as a mediator (95% CI [-0.100, -0.012]). Additionally, burnout and decent work were found to mediate the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and well-being (95% CI [-0.050, -0.006]).

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the impact of effort-reward imbalance on well-being, confirming that burnout and decent work serve as mediators. Enhancing support, fair compensation, reasonable work schedules, and professional development can promote psychiatric nurses' perception of decent work and improve their well-being.

How Decent Work Influences Internal Whistleblowing Intentions in Nurses: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Felt Obligation and Organisational Identification-A Cross-Sectional Survey

INTRODUCTION

Fostering nurses' intentions to blow the whistle internally is a salient issue in healthcare. However, there are debates on the antecedents of these intentions, and the explanation of how these antecedents influence such intentions is missing in the nursing literature.

AIM

Based on the social exchange theory and the social identity theory, this study aimed to unveil how decent work influences nurses' internal whistleblowing intentions, specifically through the parallel mediating roles of felt obligation and organisational identification.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 268 clinical nurses from three tertiary public hospitals in Mansoura, Egypt. Data were collected between June and November 2023 using the Decent Work Scale, the Felt Obligation Scale, the Organisational Identification Scale and the Internal Whistleblowing Intentions Scale. Study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling.

RESULTS

Decent work significantly influenced nurses' internal whistleblowing intentions. Felt obligation and organisational identification partially mediated the positive relationship between decent work and internal whistleblowing intentions.

CONCLUSION

Decent work is a significant predictor in nurturing felt obligation and organisational identification, leading to an increased willingness among nurses to engage in internal whistleblowing.

IMPACT

This study offers valuable insights into how hospital administrators can leverage internal whistleblowing intentions among nurses. It showed that securing decent work conditions, fostering felt obligation and organisational identification contribute to an increased willingness to blow the whistle.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Factors influencing the job embeddedness of new graduate nurses: A multicentre cross-sectional study

AIM

To identify factors associated with job embeddedness from the perspective of retaining new graduate nurses.

DESIGN

The study was cross-sectional in design.

METHODS

Convenience and stratified sampling were used to recruit 415 newly graduated nurses from 12 tertiary hospitals in China. Anonymized data were collected through self-designed sociodemographic questionnaires, job embeddedness scale, feedback-seeking behaviour scale, authentic leadership perception scale and decent work scale. Appropriate indicators were used for descriptive statistics and t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression to examine the influencing factors.

RESULTS

The study showed that monthly income level, decent labour, authentic leadership and feedback-seeking behaviour were significant predictors of job embeddedness among new graduate nurses.

CONCLUSION

The job embeddedness of new graduate nurses is moderate. Nursing managers need to construct reasonable and fair compensation incentives, adopt positive leadership styles and encourage proactive feedback-seeking behaviours to improve the job embeddedness of new graduate nurses and alleviate the nursing talent shortage.

IMPACT

Exploring the factors influencing the job embeddedness of new graduate nurses provides a reference for establishing new graduate nurse retention strategies to help promote the career development of new graduate nurses and alleviate the nursing brain drain.

REPORTING METHOD

We adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Decent work and ethical ideologies of nurses-A multicenter cross-sectional study

Background: Although research has established that the work environment significantly shapes nurses' ethical behavior, it's less clear whether decent work could influence ethical ideologies of nurses. Aim: To investigate the decent work conditions and ethical ideologies of nurses, and to analyze whether decent work influences their ethical ideologies. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted among 203 nurses working in three tertiary governmental hospitals across two cities in Egypt. We utilized the Scale of Decent Work, which consists of 15 items distributed across five dimensions, to assess the level of decent work conditions. Additionally, the Ethics Position Questionnaire, containing 20 items divided into two categories-idealism and relativism-was used to evaluate the ethical ideologies of nurses. Pearson correlation and linear regression analyses were applied to analyze the data. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval from the ethics committee, institutional permission, and informed consent from the participants were obtained for data collection. Results: The findings indicated that the levels of decent work conditions were moderate, while the ethical ideologies of nurses were relatively high. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses revealed that the idealism of nurses was significantly predicted by two dimensions of decent work-organizational values, and hours allowing for free time and rest-along with the overall decent work score. Meanwhile, the relativism of nurses was significantly predicted by the presence of physically and interpersonally safe working conditions. Conclusions: Nurses experiencing decent work conditions characterized by high organizational values and adequate hours for free time and rest are more inclined to adopt idealistic ethical ideology. Meanwhile, those experiencing physically and interpersonally safe working conditions tend to embrace relativistic ethical ideology. Implications for clinical practice: Identifying the relationship between decent work conditions and the ethical ideologies of nurses can assist hospital administrators in fostering work conditions that promote appropriate ethical ideologies among nurses.

The role of psychological ownership in linking decent work to nurses' vigor at work: A two-wave study

INTRODUCTION

Nurses' vigor at work profoundly impacts the quality of patient care. However, the determinants of nurses' vigor remain underexplored in the current nursing literature, and the mechanism through which these determinants exert their effects remains unclear.

AIM

This study aimed to elucidate the mediating role of psychological ownership in linking decent work to nurses' vigor at work.

METHODS

A two-wave, time-lagged study was conducted to collect data from 289 nurses working across three hospitals in Port Said, Egypt, between March and June 2023. Data were collected using the Decent Work Scale, the Psychological Ownership Scale, the Shirom-Melamed Vigor Measure, on an Introductory Information Form. Mediation testing was performed using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Decent work was significantly associated with psychological ownership and vigor at work. Psychological ownership partially mediated the relationship between decent work and nurses' vigor at work.

CONCLUSION

Decent work practices are critical in fostering nurses' vigor while working, and psychological ownership plays a mediating role in this relationship.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Hospital administrators should value decent work practices, which could enhance psychological ownership, resulting in a potential improvement in nurses' vigor at work.

Decent work, work engagement, and turnover intention among registered nurses: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Nurses face substantial career challenges arising from global pandemics, economic crises, and their roles in conflict-ridden areas. In this context, the rights of nurses pertaining to decent work, such as freedom, fairness, safety, and dignity, are not adequately safeguarded. This study examines decent work status among Chinese nurses and its links to demographics, work engagement, and turnover intention.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used following STROBE guidelines. Through a convenient sampling method, a total of 476 nurses were surveyed. These participants were drawn from three esteemed tertiary Grade A hospitals in Hangzhou, with data collection spanning from June to August in 2023. We used a comprehensive set of assessment instruments, encompassing an evaluation of demographic characteristics, the Decent Work Perceptions Scale (DWPS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UEWS), and turnover intention questionnaire. Bootstrapping procedures were used to ensure the robustness and reliability of the model.

RESULTS

The study revealed that nurses' perceptions of decent work significantly impacted work engagement (β = 0.603, p < 0.001) and turnover intention (β = -0.275, p < 0.001). Work engagement operated as a mediator between decent work and turnover intention, decreasing the likelihood of nurses leaving their positions (β = -0.062, p < 0.001). Factors such as age, years of working experience, professional title, job category, and attendance at professional conferences significantly influenced nurses' perceptions of decent work (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study examines factors affecting decent work among nurses and explores its connection with work engagement and the intention to leave. Despite limitations (sample, social desirability bias), the study offers valuable insights for nursing practice. This suggests managers improve decent work for young nurses through rational shift schedules and continuous education. Policymakers should consider adjusting nursing policies for better employment conditions.

Assessing the mediation pathways: How decent work affects turnover intention through job satisfaction and burnout in nursing

AIM

This study aimed to assess the potential mediating roles of nurses' job satisfaction and burnout in the association between decent work and turnover intention.

BACKGROUND

There is a global challenge of nursing shortages in healthcare systems worldwide. Decent work is crucial for safeguarding the rights and professional development outcomes of nurses. However, there is currently limited research on decent work among nurses, and there is a lack of studies exploring the relationships between nurses' decent work, job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intention.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a sample of 460 nurses from three hospitals: The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou Third People's Hospital, and Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital. The STROBE checklist was used. Mediation analysis using the PROCESS Macro was used to examine the relationships between decent work, job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intention.

RESULTS

The results showed that nurses' perception of decent work directly influences their turnover intention. Additionally, these findings strongly support the role of job satisfaction and burnout as mediating factors in the relationship between decent work and turnover intention.

CONCLUSIONS

Decent work reduces nurse burnout and turnover intention of enhancing their job satisfaction.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

This study's findings have important implications for healthcare organizations and policymakers. Recognizing the pivotal role of decent work in nurses' job satisfaction and well-being can guide the development of strategies to improve working conditions and reduce turnover rates. It is imperative for healthcare institutions to prioritize creating safe, supportive, and equitable work conditions for nurses, as this can contribute to higher job satisfaction and, subsequently, lower turnover rates.