Building and sustaining work engagement – a participatory action intervention to increase work engagement in nursing staff

Abstract

This study evaluated whether a participatory action research intervention with nursing staff on acute care older people National Health Service wards in the United Kingdom was effective for increasing work engagement. Mediation analyses between job resources (social support, influence in decisionmaking), job demands, work-related needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and work engagement explored the presumed psychological mechanisms underlying the intervention. A non-randomized, matched control group, pretest, post-test design involved three intervention and five control wards. A significant decrease in relatedness, and a borderline significant decrease in competence, was observed in the intervention group compared to the control group, with no effect on work engagement (N = 45). Work-related needs mediated between resources and work engagement, supporting the job demands-resources model and self-determination theory as an underlying explanatory theory. Intervention implementation was difficult, highlighting the need for participant and organizational readiness for change, and strong management support. This is the first known study to apply participatory techniques to increase work engagement in nursing staff and explore the underlying explanatory psychological mechanisms, offering a novel means of taking work engagement research forward. Crucially, it highlights the challenges involved in intervention research and the importance of including evaluations of intervention implementation alongside statistical evaluations to avoid erroneous conclusions. ARTICLE HISTORY

Identifying thriving Workplaces in Hospitals: Work Characteristics and the Applicability of Character Strengths at Work

“…However, little evidence exists as to how to address this problem effectively (Shanafelt et al 2012). Also, conducted interventions have primarily focused on individual strategies to address the problem and were not evaluated in a formal way (Knight et al 2017). In their work, Dyrbye and colleagues (Dyrbye et al 2014) therefore claimed the need for organizational interventions Bto address the curricular, training, and system factors that also contribute to the high prevalence of distress^(p. 449) among physicians.…”

When and How Does Psychological Voice Climate Influence Individual Change Readiness? The Mediating Role of Normative Commitment and the Moderating Role of Work Engagement

“…A growing number of studies indicate the possibility that work engagement serves a moderating role by attenuating or enhancing the relationships of job characteristics and work experiences with job outcomes (e.g., Shuck and Reio, 2014; Gordon et al,2015). Employees with higher work engagement are thought to appraise their ability to meet their work demands positively, believe in good outcomes, and believe that they can satisfy their needs by fully engaging in their roles played in the organization (Knight et al, 2017). This may be particularly true for those engaged employees who feel obligated to do the right thing to repay for the existence of voice climate and exert more energy to support change initiatives in a changing context.…”

Each One Counts: Basic Needs Mediating the Association Between Social Support and Vitality at Work

“…For example, instrumental support in the form tangible resources and concrete aid may motivate the employee to take self-directed action (autonomy), increase the likelihood of success (competence), and communicate caring and connection (relatedness). Similarly, Knight, Patterson, Dawson, and Brown (2017) state that support from co-workers may affect each need. According to them, collaboratively establishing appropriate ways of working may promote job control (autonomy), supporting environment could facilitate sense of ability and motivate to take more responsibilities (competence), and social support as chances to learn from colleagues and to build working relationships possibly develops employees' sense of belonging with their teams (relatedness).…”

“…Thus, social support should have some effect on important outcomes via the needs. This is based on the role of social support as a job resource reducing demands, enhancing goal achievement, and stimulating growth (Bakker and Demerouti, 2017;Graves and Luciano, 2013;Knight et al, 2017), and on the role of the needs as essential for well-being, motivation, and full functioning (Ryan and Deci, 2017).…”

“…The study examines two hypotheses. As social support may facilitate the satisfaction of each need (Graves and Luciano, 2013;Knight et al, 2017), as it is empirically associated with all the needs (Van den Broeck et al, 2016), and as all the needs are expected to contribute uniquely to vitality (Ryan and Deci, 2017) it is hypothesized that:…”