Relationship between Job characteristics and Work Engagement among Nursing Staff

Abstract

Background: To retain the nursing staff in health care organization is a big challenge. Health care organizations have to do a lot of effort to keep the nursing staff in the organization and avoid nursing shortages. Characteristics of job is an important concept to be considered by the hospital administration to improve the characteristics of work, facilitating and enhancing the work settings, motivating the employees make them happy, engaged in their work, improving their performance and reach high positive outcome. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between job characteristics and work engagement among nursing staff in selected hospital in Cairo. Research Descriptive correlational design was used to examine the relationship between job characteristics and work engagement among nursing staff. A convenient sampling technique was used in the present study, study sample composed of 104 nursing staff teaching hospital in Cairo. Two scales were used the Job characteristics scale to measure the characteristics of the job and the work engagement scale to measure the levels of nurses’ engagement in their work. The current study concluded that autonomy was correlated positively with absorption. Feedback is correlated positively with work engagement subscales i.e. vigor, dedication and absorption. Skill variety and task identity were correlated negatively with absorption; while task significance was not correlated with work engagement. It is recommended that hospital administrators use a system of rewarding and recognition for nurses because it has a vital effect in their job satisfaction and engagement in their work which will lead to reduction of turnover and burnout among nursing staff. Support from organization and supervisor would moderate the relationship between job characteristics and engagement at work. Other researches should be planned to identify the factors helping nursing staff to be engaged in their work.