Nurses’ reciprocation of perceived organizational support: the moderating role of psychological contract breach

The straw that broke the nurse's back-Using psychological contract breach to understand why nurses leave

AIM

To deepen our understanding of why nurses decide to leave their occupation instead of changing jobs, we examined the antecedents that led to this decision through the theoretical lens of psychological contract breach.

DESIGN

A qualitative design with semi-structured interviews.

METHODS

We collected 28 interviewees from our social networks and a social media platform. We included professional nurses who had decided to leave or had left the occupation. We analysed our data with reflexive thematic analysis, thereby giving space for the interviewee voices to rise.

RESULTS

We identified various experiences of dissonance between interviewee expectations and reality. The interviewees expressed unfulfilled expectations or psychological contract breaches in relation to their occupation on different levels and over extended time periods. The psychological contract breaches and decisions to leave the occupation were built up over time because of continuous disappointment and dissonance between expectations and reality. The frustration, dissonance and unfulfilled expectations were expressed towards the institution of nursing rather than a specific employer or organization.

CONCLUSION

Unfulfilled expectations over a longer period might cause psychological contract breach, leading to turnover intentions. Our research brings novel insights into the psychological contract, as our findings indicate that the psychological contract can be formed and breached, also between the employee and the occupation. This means that turnover intentions might result in nurses leaving the profession rather than seeking work in new organizations.

IMPACT

The study addresses the problem of nurse shortage by showing the root reasons for deciding to leave the occupation. Our findings show how psychological contract breaches over time erupt as turnover intentions regarding the occupation rather than a job. The results guide healthcare managers and decision-makers to recognize factors leading to a psychological contract breach, thereby enabling the retention of nurses.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior-A study of the moderating effect of volunteer participation motivation, and cross-level effect of transformational leadership and organizational climate

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior, and to explore the moderating effect of volunteer participation motivation on the relationship between the variables, as well as the cross-level effect of transformational leadership and organizational climate. In this study, the front-liners of Taiwan's National Immigration Agency were the study subjects. A total of 289 employee questionnaires were filled out and returned. It was found that employees' POS had a positive effect on OCB, while volunteer participation motivation had a moderating effect on the relationships between the variables. Furthermore, transformational leadership and organizational climate were found to have a cross-level effect on enhancing employees' POS, boosting their motivation to volunteer, and triggering more OCB in employees. The results of this study provide the organization with development measures to encourage its employees to convey more OCB, and improve their service performance. Moreover, based on research evidence that an organization encourages employees to actively participate in voluntary work, and should promote cooperation between the employees and the public by enhancing their sense of public responsibility, improving their services to the public, creating a harmonious work climate for the employees, and offering more opportunities for the public to engage with the employees.

How workplace bullying affects knowledge hiding? The roles of psychological contract breach and learning goal orientation

Purpose

Workplace bullying is a serious problem among nurses, which results in negative workplace behavior. Therefore, this study aims to understand how workplace bullying affects employees’ knowledge hiding behavior. Specifically, this study explored psychological contract breach as an underlying mechanism between workplace bullying and knowledge hiding; and learning goal orientation as a boundary condition between psychological contract breach and knowledge hiding.

Design/methodology/approach

The study collected data from 343 nurses working in the health-care sector of Pakistan on convenience basis using a questionnaire-based survey between December 2021 to March 2022. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results revealed the adverse effect of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding behaviors among nurses, and psychological contract breach was noted to mediate this association. Further, learning goal orientation was noted to buffer the relationship between psychological contract breach and knowledge hiding.

Research limitations/implications

The cross-section design may restrict causality; however, the findings suggest health-care administration take appropriate measures to reduce the adverse effects of workplace bullying. In addition, the administration is suggested to implement training programs to make nurses capable of dealing with workplace stressors (bullying and psychological contract breach).

Originality/value

This research provides a novel perspective to consider psychological contract breach as a mechanism between workplace bullying and knowledge hiding in the health-care sector from the conservation of resources perspective. It further explored learning goal orientation as a buffer to mitigate the effect of psychological contract breach on knowledge hiding.

The relationship between organisational support for career development, organisational commitment, and turnover intentions among healthcare workers in township hospitals of Henan, China

Background

Township hospitals in China face the challenge of shortage and turnover of healthcare workers. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between organisational support for career development (OSCD), organisational commitment, and turnover intentions among healthcare workers in township hospitals.

Methods

The data in this study were obtained from the Health Service Capacity Survey of Primary Health Institutions (2020), one of the special surveys of rural health poverty alleviation in Henan, China. The sample comprised 298 healthcare workers. Three standardised instruments were used: the turnover intention scale, OSCD scale, and organisational commitment scale. Descriptive statistics, One-way Analysis of Variance, Pearson correlation analysis, and the simple mediation model were used for data analysis.

Results

The results showed that the mean score of the healthcare workers’ turnover intentions was 2.21 ± 0.77, which was low. The healthcare workers’ turnover intentions had significant differences in gender, age, marital status, education, professional title, and organisational tenure. OSCD had no significant direct relationship with turnover intentions, while having a significant positive direct relationship with organisational commitment. Organisational commitment had a significant negative direct relationship with turnover intentions, and played a fully mediating role in the relationship between OSCD and turnover intentions.

Conclusions

OSCD had an indirect negative effect on healthcare workers’ turnover intentions in township hospitals through the full mediation of organisational commitment. The findings of this study suggest the importance of policymakers and organisation managers to improve OSCD practice and pay attention to ‘humanistic management’. In addition, the formulation and implementation of talent retention policies should consider socio-demographic differences.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12875-022-01753-4.

Perceived Organizational Support and Creativity of Science-Technology Talents in the Digital Age: The Effects of Affective Commitment, Innovative Self-Efficacy and Digital Thinking

Background

The impact of perceived organizational support on the creativity of science-technology talents in the digital era is an important domain for fostering innovation power and the long-term competitive advantage of enterprises. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the "black box" mechanism of perceived organizational support on the creativity of science-technology talents in the digital environment, guide enterprises to attach importance to perceived organizational support and enhance the creativity of science-technology talents.

Methods

Based on resource conservation theory and social exchange theory, this study took the science-technology talents of Chinese high-tech enterprises as the research object, combined 380 matching data of science-technology talents and supervisors, and used AMOS, MPLUS, and SPSS software to test all hypotheses.

Results

Perceived organizational support has a significant positive impact on the creativity of science-technology talents, affective commitment and innovative self-efficacy. Affective commitment and innovative self-efficacy have significant positive effects on the creativity of science-technology talents. Digital thinking positively moderates the relationship between perceived organizational support and affective commitment, innovative self-efficacy. Affective commitment and innovative self-efficacy play a moderated mediation role between perceived organizational support and the creativity of science-technology talents.

Conclusion

Perceived organizational support promotes the creativity of science-technology talents through affective commitment and innovative self-efficacy, which is moderated by digital thinking. These findings not only help deepen and expand the theoretical research on perceived organizational support and creativity, but also inspire managers to guide science-technology talents to work creatively from the aspects of affective commitment, innovative self-efficacy and digital thinking.

The Impact of Developmental HR Practices on Career Self-Management and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Purpose

Drawing on the social exchange and signal theory, this study aims to investigate the impact of developmental HR practices on employees’ career self-management and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through the mediating role of direct supervisor’s transformational leadership and the moderating role of perceived organizational support.

Methods

Data were congregated from 571 employees belonging to a diverse range of organizations in southwest China. Statistical procedures, such as hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analysis based on Hayes’ PROCESS on SPSS 23, were conducted to test the hypotheses. For model fitness, we used AMOS V 22.

Results

A positive effect of developmental HR practices on employees’ career self-management and OCB was found, which was partially mediated by direct supervisor’s transformational leadership. Moreover, perceived organizational support is anticipated to moderate the indirect relationship among developmental HR practices, career self-management and OCB through supervisor’s transformational leadership.

Discussion

This study finds that employees’ perceived organizational support should be given more attention by organizations, especially in the context of transformational direct supervisors implementing developmental HR practices. Meanwhile, this study extends the utility of the concept of developmental HR practices to the leadership and career management literature.

Oral health-related interdisciplinary practices among healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia: Does integrated care exist?

Background

There is a bidirectional relation between oral and general health, therefore collaboration between healthcare providers is needed. This study investigated current interdisciplinary practices (IDP) and the associated factors among healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Eastern Saudi Arabia recruiting four groups of health professionals (nurses, physicians, pediatricians and Ear-Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists). A validated, self-administered questionnaire was distributed online and shared through social media platforms. The questionnaire explored predisposing factors (demographics) and facilitating factors (knowledge, attitudes, attendance of oral health training and source of knowledge) associated with IDP.

Results

A total of 1398 health professionals were recruited. Participants showed fair oral health knowledge (7.1 ± 2.1) and attitudes (22.2 ± 3). Three-fourths (74.6%) reported always providing oral health education (OHE) to their patients, more than half (59.6%) reported always conducting an oral health screening (OHS), two-thirds (66.7%) reported responding to patients’ questions about oral health or conditions and 58.7% reported referring patients to dentists. Pediatricians and physicians had greater odds of IDP compared to other health professionals. Source of oral health knowledge (Ministry of Health (MOH) and formal education) was significantly associated with increased odds of IDP. Participants with good oral health knowledge had greater odds of responding to patients’ oral health question as well as have more referral practices.

Conclusion

The results reveal a discrepancy between participants' IDP, knowledge, and attitudes. Incorporating dental component to medical curricula, continuous education and training programs targeting health professionals through Ministry of Health should be considered.

A qualitative study of hospital clinical staff perceptions of their interactions with healthcare middle managers

PURPOSE

The authors explored clinical staff perceptions of their interactions with middle management and their experiences of the uncongeniality of their working environment.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Semi-structured interviews of clinical staff from an Australian public health service's Emergency, Surgery and Psychiatry departments. Volunteer interview transcripts were inductively coded using a reflexive thematic content analysis.

FINDINGS

Of 73 interviews, 66 participants discussed their interactions with management. Most clinicians considered their interactions with middle management to be negative based on a violation of their expectations of support in the workplace. Collectively, these interactions formed the basis of clinical staff perceptions of management's lack of capacity and fit for the needs of staff to perform their roles.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Strategies to improve management's fit with clinicians' needs may be beneficial for reducing uncongenial workplaces for healthcare staff and enhanced patient care.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This article is among the few papers that discuss interactions with management from the perspective of clinical staff in healthcare. How these perspectives inform the perception of workplace uncongeniality for clinicians contributes greater understanding of the factors contributing to adversarial relationships between clinicians and managers.

How workplace bullying affects nurses’ well-being? The roles of burnout and passive avoidant leadership

Purpose

This study aims to investigate individual-related consequences of workplace bullying among the health-care section. Specifically, this study examined the mediating role of burnout between workplace bullying and nurses’ well-being. Moreover, passive avoidant leadership is examined as a conditional variable between workplace bullying and burnout.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected data from 314 nurses working in various hospitals through a questionnaire-based survey using Google Form in two waves.

Findings

Structural equation modeling confirmed the negative effect of workplace bullying on nurses’ well-being, whereas burnout mediates this relationship. In addition, passive avoidant leadership was identified as a conditional variable that strengthens the positive association between workplace bullying and burnout.

Research limitations/implications

Although data for the study were collected in two waves, still cross-sectional design limits causality.

Practical implications

This study suggests management to focus on developing and implementing counter-bullying rules to avoid the adverse consequences of workplace bullying (e.g. capital loss, recruitment costs, burnout, well-being, etc.). In addition, leaders/supervisors must be trained to fulfill their responsibilities to reduce negative consequences.

Originality/value

Studies on workplace bullying in high-power distance cultures are scant. Therefore, drawing upon conservation of resource theory, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that has investigated the moderating role of passive avoidant leadership on the association between workplace bullying and burnout.

Work environment and performance among nurses: a significant way to overcome violation of human rights in the health sector

Purpose

The study aims to purpose the role of the work environment (WE) towards employees’ performance (EP) in Pakistan’s health sector.

Design/methodology/approach

Data-wise, the study is cross-sectional and random sampling was used to glean the response from the trained health nurses in Pakistan. The survey questionnaire was used as a primary tool to collect the data. In total, 306 usable samples as used to infer the final consequences.

Findings

The structural equation modeling through AMOS 26.0 for windows resulted in a positive and significant effect of an organizational learning culture, supervisor support on EP. On the other hand, the impact of peer support on EP is not significant among the nurses in Pakistan.

Practical implications

The policymakers and planners in the health sector and government may address unemployment – are willing to join the health sector. Better performance through the WE would provide equity in health and would not violate fundamental human rights. This work may help human resource management bring advancement in organizational and social determinants of health equity and practical interventions to overwhelm health-care barriers.

Originality/value

The study overcomes the gaps in terms of the cross-sectional survey to measure nurses’ performance in Pakistan.

Empirical Study on the Relationship between Effective Following Behavior and Derived Creative Work Behavior: A Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Sustainable Leadership

The leader of an organization and its members together constitute a binary structure of the main body of the organization and achievement of their goals. The existing literature mainly focuses on the characteristics and following behavior of members. Although the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory uniquely explains the relationship between sustainable leaders and followers, it cannot as easily explain the creative work behavior of followers. This paper proposes that effective following behavior can stimulate the intrinsic motivation of followers and make this consistent with their work motivation, thereby producing creative work behavior and leading to the more effective achievement of organizational goals. Moreover, it demonstrates the internal relationships and mechanisms of action between effective following behavior and creative work behavior. Taking the two dimensions of effective following behavior as independent variables and the three dimensions of creative work behavior as dependent variables, a group of hypotheses were presented. The moderating role of the perceived organizational support and sustainable leadership in the relationship between effective following behavior and creative work behavior was demonstrated, and two groups of hypotheses were proposed. Data from 409 surveys, factor analysis, and multiple regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses. The empirical results show that in the organization the radical and incremental creative work behavior of the followers correlates positively with their active, participatory following behavior and the non-blind following behavior. The followers’ non-creative routine work behavior correlates negatively with their active participatory following behavior and has no significant correlation with the non-blind following behavior. In conclusion, sustainable leadership and perceived organizational support can therefore strengthen the relationship between actively participating in following behavior and creative work behavior and weaken the relationship between non-blind following behavior and creative work behavior.

Explaining Organizational Citizenship Behavior Among Chinese Nurses Combating COVID-19

Background

Little is known about the associated factors with organizational citizenship behavior among Chinese nurses combating COVID-19. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between autonomy, optimism, role conflict, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behavior based on moderated mediation models among Chinese nurses combating COVID-19.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 368 nurses supporting the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital, China. According to the Job Demands-Resources model, two moderated mediation models were tested, in which autonomy/optimism was associated with organizational citizenship behavior through work engagement, when role conflict served as a moderator.

Results

This current study found the mediating effect of work engagement and the moderating effect of role conflict on the relationship between autonomy/optimism and organizational citizenship behavior among nurses. Of note, nurses working in the COVID-19 epidemic viewed role conflict as challenge job demands rather than hindrance job demands.

Conclusion

Based on the findings, organizational citizenship behavior can be affected by work engagement and role conflict. Nursing management is suggested to put emphasis on work engagement and role conflict among nurses supporting the COVID-19 epidemic.

Enhancing nurses well-being through managerial coaching: a mediating model

Purpose

Workplace well-being has emerged as an important aspect in the field of health care. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the role of managerial coaching on nurses’ well-being through psychological ownership and organizational identity.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors approached 284 nurses working in both public and private hospitals (between December 2019 and February 2020) on convenience basis, and data were collected through an online questionnaire-based survey.

Findings

The data were analyzed using AMOS version 24 and structural equation modeling confirmed psychological ownership and organizational identity as explanatory variables between managerial coaching and well-being.

Research limitations/implications

The study used self-reported data using convenience sampling which may raise a question on causality. The findings suggest the management to consider the importance of managerial coaching in shaping positive workplace behaviors of employees.

Originality/value

Drawings on social exchange theory, this study extends past studies to examine the mediating roles of psychological ownership and organizational identification between managerial coaching and workplace well-being among nurses. The study has theoretical and practical implications.

Transformational leadership and four-dimensional commitment

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanism between transformational leadership (TL) and organizational commitment (OC) using job characteristics as a mediator and participative and directive leadership (DL) as moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a questionnaire-based survey to collect data from 563 employees working in the banking industry.

Findings

The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings confirmed the mediating role of job characteristics and moderating role of both participative and DL styles between TL and OC.

Research limitations/implications

The data for this study were collected at one point of time and it has implications for the policymakers and bankers.

Originality/value

The study is novel as it highlights the importance of job characteristics, participative and DL styles in understanding the relationship between TL and OC.

Mechanism between perceived organizational support and transfer of training

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the mechanism between perceived organizational support and transfer of training using self-efficacy and job satisfaction as mediating variables. More specifically, self-efficacy is examined as a mediator between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction, whereas job satisfaction is examined as a mediator between perceived organizational support and transfer of training.

Design/methodology/approach

This quantitative study is based on data collected from 409 employees of the banking sector on a random basis.

Findings

Structural equation modeling analysis confirmed the mediating role of job satisfaction between perceived organizational support and transfer of training. In addition, self-efficacy was found to perform the mediating role between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

The data for this study were collected at one point of time, and it has implications for organizations and employees.

Originality/value

This study highlights the emerging issue of transfer of training and gives a practical model to the organizations to strengthen their human resources. This study is perhaps the first attempt to empirically investigate the mediating role of self-efficacy and job satisfaction.

Protecting healthcare through organizational support to reduce turnover intention

Purpose

Nursing profession is facing the problem of turnover across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to identify the mechanism through which organizational support helps nurses to reduce their turnover intention (TI).

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 324 nurses were collected using a questionnaire-based survey on the basis of a convenience sampling technique.

Findings

The results generated using structural equation modeling have confirmed the mediating role of organizational commitment and citizenship behavior between perceived organizational support (POS) and TI. In addition, psychological contract (PC) breach was found to weaken the positive association between POS and citizenship behavior.

Originality/value

This study adds to the previous studies by incorporating organizational citizenship behavior as a mediator between POS and TI and PC breach as a moderator between POS and citizenship behavior using social exchange and job-demand-resource theories.

Effects of ethical leadership on bullying and voice behavior among nurses

PURPOSE

This study aims to investigate the effects of ethical leadership on employee's bullying and voice behavior, considering poor working conditions, organizational identification and workload as mediating variables.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

Questionnaire survey design was used to elicit responses of 564 nurses from hospitals located in various cities of Pakistan.

FINDINGS

Analysis through structural equation modeling proved that ethical leadership has a positive and significant impact on both organizational identification and voice behavior, but a negative and significant impact on workload, poor working conditions and bullying at the workplace. Furthermore, organizational identification, poor working conditions and workload proved to be partial mediators.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The study adds value to the limited literature on ethical leadership, bullying and voice behavior in nursing. Additionally, organizational identification, workload and poor working conditions have not previously been examined as mediators.