Servant leadership behaviour of head nurse assessment and its linkage with nurse work engagement in China

Abstract

AimTo assess the servant leadership behaviour of head nurse and its linkage with nurse work engagement in China.DesignA cross‐sectional study.MethodsA anonymous investigation with the stratified cluster randomized sampling of nurse was conducted in Hunan Province of China in December 2020. We administered the Perceived Head Nurse Service Leadership Behaviour Scale and the Chinese version of Utrecht work engagement scale to survey, and analyse its relationships by multiple linear regression.ResultsA number of 890 nurses participated in this study. The average score of the perceived servant leadership of head nurse reported by nurses was 78.90 ± 14.04, which was at a medium level. Among its six dimensions, the dimension of promote nurse development scored highest (16.04 ± 2.84), while the dimension of dedication scored lowest (11.39 ± 2.46). Official nurses reported higher perceived servant leadership scores of head nurses than those who were employed and temporary nurses (b = 1.727, 95% CI: 0.054–3.400); nurses in tertiary hospitals reported higher perceived servant leadership scores of head nurses than nurses in primary and secondary hospitals (b = 2.703, 95% CI: 0.305–5.100); and lower perceived servant leadership scores were associated with nurses' job overtime (b = −4.935, 95% CI: −6.891 to −2.978). Nurses' perceived servant leadership of head nurses were positively associated with nurses' work engagement (r = 0.336, p < .05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the perceived servant leadership of head nurse affected nurses' work engagement strongly (b = 0.585, 95% CI: 0.479–0.691).ConclusionThe servant leadership behaviour of head nurse in China was at the medium level, which was positively associated with nurses' work engagement. Further research should improve the power of the servant leadership behaviour of head nurse by integrating additional training, policies and support.ImpactIt is time to consider the servant leadership behaviour of head nurses and its linkage with nurses' work engagement in China seriously, and address the policies, guidelines, curriculum, and practice culture.Patient or Public ContributionThe study was conducted to explore the situation of servant leadership behaviour of head nurses and its linkage with nurses' work engagement in China, which did not include input from the public or the intended participants.

Updating Factors Influencing Nurse Work Engagement in the Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review

“… Compared to transformational leadership, transactional leadership strongly impacts employee engagement.58 Asiri, Mahran, Elseesy 57 Al-Dossary 58 Servant leadership There is a strong positive effect of servant leadership on work engagement. Qin, Li, Li 59 Ethical leadership Positive relationship with work engagement. Ethical leadership is mediated and moderated by work meaningfulness associated with work engagement.…”

“…Leadership is the dynamic process of guiding individuals or groups toward shared goals. Findings from six studies reveal diverse leadership styles influencing work engagement, including Transformational leadership, 21 , 57 , 58 Transactional leadership, 57 , 58 Servant leadership, 59 Ethical leadership, 50 Humble leadership, 60 and Laissez-faire leadership. 58 Notably, the positive influence of Transformational leadership may vary in high-challenge contexts, 21 and Ethical leadership is intricately associated with work engagement through mediation and moderation by work meaningfulness.…”

“…While Transformational leadership often inspires, its effectiveness might vary in challenging contexts, necessitating adaptability. 21 Ethical, servant, and humble leadership are kind of new approaches in which ethical leadership prioritizes moral values, 50 , 76 servant leadership focuses on serving others’ needs, 59 and humble leadership embraces humility, collaboration, and openness to foster inclusive and innovative environments within teams. 60 However, this mosaic of leadership styles highlights its dynamic, context-sensitive nature, urging nurse leaders and managers to embrace versatility and tailor their styles and competencies to their teams’ ever-evolving needs.…”

Perception and needs: a qualitative study on sense of job security among nurses in central and western China

“… 32 According to the theory of servant leadership behaviour, supervisors should base their decisions on nurses’ needs and provide them with priority services and support to enhance their sense of belonging, considering that servant leadership style positively influences nurses' engagement in work. 33 Similarly, Smith and Plunkett 34 showed that a working environment where nurses were punished for ‘mistakes’ was not conducive to building a harmonious teamwork atmosphere. Furthermore, some participants described that female nurses might need more humanistic care than male nurses, perhaps due to their lower psychological resilience, self-regulation ability and ability to withstand pressure.…”

The relationship between servant leadership and nurses' in‐role performance: The sequential mediating effects of job autonomy and emotional exhaustion

“…In addition, leaders should empower their nursing workforce to participate in the decision‐making processes and foster a culture of trust and independence. The positive impact of these empowering initiatives by head nurses has been found to positively influence the levels of work engagement resulting in better in‐role performance (Qin et al., 2023) and reduction of negative emotions and burnout to realize the level of servant leadership behaviours (Membrive‐Jiménez et al., 2022). In line with other researchers, we therefore, recommend training nurse leaders in the crucial skills for a servant leader to be empathetic and emotionally intelligent for better managing the well‐being of their followers (see Chang, 2020; Heinen et al., 2019).…”