Empowerment and its effects on clinical nurses in central China

Cai C.F., Zhou Z.K., Yeh H. & Hu J. (2011) Empowerment and its effects on clinical nurses in central China. International Nursing Review58, 138–144 Background: Chinese healthcare institutions have undergone constant changes in recent years. A large number of research studies conducted on work‐related factors revealed that nurses in China experienced a low level of job satisfaction and a high level of turnover intention. Empowerment is one of the most important concepts in nursing and is most relevant to the study of nursing professionals' job‐related outcomes. Aim: The aim of this study was to test the Job Characteristics Model and the mediating role of structural empowerment on the relationships between the job characteristics and work‐related outcomes among clinical nurses from central China. Methods: Three self‐reported questionnaires were administered to a sample of 238 clinical nurses from two hospitals in central China. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple linear regressions. Findings: Correlations were significant between job characteristics and job‐related outcomes, and the estimated model on the effect of empowerment reduced the unique contribution of job characteristics on internal work motivation (from 17.2% to 13.0%) and general job satisfaction (from13.4% to 10.1%), and eliminated the unique contribution of job characteristics on growth satisfaction (from 18.4% to 0%). Conclusions: The results supported the Job Characteristics Model in a nursing sample and empowerment mediated the impact of job characteristics on internal work motivation and general job satisfaction partially and on growth satisfaction completely.