Title: Empowerment in nursing and its effect on work engagement
Abstract:
Objective: This study aimed to determine the empowerment levels of nurses and examine the effect of empowerment on their work engagement.
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with 743 nurses working in 10 public hospitals in Istanbul. Data were collected using a Descriptive Information Form, the Empowerment Scale (developed as part of this study), and the Work Engagement Scale. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, independent and paired samples t-tests, Pearson correlation analysis, ANOVA, LSD test, and regression analysis.
Results: The nurses' mean scores on the total empowerment scale and its subdimensions were as follows: total empowerment: 3.35?±?0.61; structural empowerment: 2.72?±?0.85; psychological empowerment: 3.50?±?0.66; and behavioral empowerment: 3.84?±?0.70. Empowerment scores showed a positive correlation with age (p?<?0.01), years of professional experience (p?<?0.01), and duration of employment in the current unit (p?<?0.05). Significant differences in empowerment levels were observed based on various independent variables, including age group, hospital type, professional experience group, job position, voluntary selection of the current unit, working style, certification status, following scientific journals, having a scientific publication, job satisfaction, and having leisure-time interests (p?<?0.05). A moderate positive correlation was found between empowerment and work engagement scores (r?=?0.56; p?<?0.01). Structural (β?=?0.09), psychological (β?=?0.20), and behavioral (β?=?0.61) empowerment subdimensions, as well as the total empowerment score (β?=?0.87), had a significant positive effect on work engagement (p?<?0.01).
Conclusion: Nurses’ empowerment levels vary according to certain sociodemographic and professional characteristics. As nurses’ empowerment levels increase, their levels of work engagement also increase. Empowerment positively influences nurses’ work engagement.
