The role of psychological factors on improving work engagement among nurses

Hasan Abualruz; Ahmad Rayan; Suhair Al-Ghabeesh; Mirna Fawaz; Rayan Jaafeer; Batool Qutami; Hanan Alyami

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1419855

The role of psychological factors on improving work engagement among nurses

Front Psychol. 2024 Aug 27:15:1419855. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1419855. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Hasan Abualruz¹, Ahmad Rayan², Suhair Al-Ghabeesh¹, Mirna Fawaz³, Rayan Jaafeer⁴, Batool Qutami⁵, Hanan Alyami⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
² Faculty of Nursing, Zarqa University, Zarqa, Jordan.
³ College of Health Sciences, American University of the Middle East, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
⁴ Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan.
⁶ Department of Medical and Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, Princess Norah Bint Abdurrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Work engagement is affected by many psychological variables including emotional intelligence, psychological empowerment, and resilience that are not well-studied among nurses.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of emotional intelligence on the work engagement of critical care nurses, and the mediating role of resilience and psychological empowerment.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted in this study among 150 critical care nurses at one university hospital in Saudi Arabia. Independent t-test and correlational analysis were used to assess relationships between study variables. A multi-step regression model was used to assess the mediatory effect.

Results: The results showed that a statistically significant positive association exists between each of the study variables (p < 0.01). The regression model showed that higher resilience (p < 0.001) and psychological empowerment (p < 0.001) predicted higher work engagement. The model predicted 33.3% of the changes in work engagement scores among critical care nurses.

Conclusion: To enhance work performance and quality of care rendered at critical care units, higher emphasis should be placed on emotional intelligence and other significant psychological variables.

Keywords: critical care nurses; emotional intelligence; psychological empowerment; resilience; work engagement.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2024R386), Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This research is also funded (partially) by Zarqa University, Jordan.