The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesised model linking perceptions of workplace empowerment and psychological capital (PsyCap) to new graduate nurses’ work engagement by integrating theories of empowerment, PsyCap and work engagement. In response to the nursing shortage, efforts are needed to retain nurses by creating empowering work environments that leverage employee PsyCap to foster work engagement. A secondary analysis of data (n = 205) from a study by Laschinger et al. (2012) was conducted to test the hypothesised model. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the influence of empowerment and psychological capital on new graduate nurses’ work engagement. Measures of structural empowerment (Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II), PsyCap (Psychological Capital Questionnaire) and work engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale) were used. The hypothesised model was supported. The combined effect of workplace empowerment and PsyCap explained 38% of the variance in new nurses’ work engagement. Workplace empowerment and PsyCap were significant independent predictors of work engagement (β = 0.45 and 0.36, p < 0.05, respectively). The results suggest that the combination of personal and organisational resources is related to greater work engagement among new graduate nurses.
AveyJBLuthansFJensenSM (2009) Psychological capital: A positive resource for combating employee stress and turnover. Human Resource Management48(5): 6777–6693.
2.
BakkerABLeiterMP (2010) Work Engagement: A Handbook of Essential Theory and Research, Madison Avenue, NY: Psychology Press.
3.
BeecroftPCDoreyFWentenM (2008) Turnover intention in new graduate nurses: A multivariate analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing62(1): 41–52.
4.
Boychuck-DuchscherJ (2009) Transition shock: The initial stage of role adaptation for newly graduated registered nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing65(5): 1103–1113.
5.
CaiCZhouZ (2009) Structural empowerment, job satisfaction, and turnover intention of Chinese clinical nurses. Nursing Health Science11(4): 397–403.
6.
ChoJLaschingerHKWongC (2006) Workplace empowerment, work engagement & organizational commitment of new graduate nurses. Nursing Leadership19(3): 43–60.
7.
Cicolini G, Comparcini D and Simonetti V (2013) Workplace empowerment and nurses’ job satisfaction: A systematic literature review. Journal of Nursing Management 2013. DOI: 10.1111/jonm.12028.
8.
DillmanD (2000) Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, 2nd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
9.
GrecoPLaschingerHKSWongC (2006) Leader empowering behaviours, staff nurse empowerment and work engagement/burnout. Nursing Research19(4): 41–56.
10.
HavensDSWarshanskyNEVaseyJ (2013) RN work engagement in generational cohorts: The view from rural US hospitals. Journal of Nursing Management27(7): 927–940.
11.
KanterRM (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation, New York, NY: Basic Books.
12.
KanterRM (1993) Men and Women of the Corporation, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Basic Books.
13.
LaschingerHKSFineganJShamianJ (2001) The impact of workplace empowerment, organizational trust on staff nurses’ work satisfaction and organizational commitment. Health Care Management Review26(3): 7–23.
14.
LaschingerHKSFineganJShamianJ (2004) A longitudinal analysis of the impact of empowerment on staff nurse’ work satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior25(4): 527–545.
15.
LaschingerHKSGrauAL (2012) The influence of personal; dispositional factors and organizational resources on workplace violence, burnout, and health outcomes in new graduate nurses: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies49: 282–291.
16.
LaschingerHKSGrauALFineganJ (2010) New graduate nurses’ experiences of bullying and burnout in hospital settings. Journal of Advanced Nursing66(12): 2732–2742.
17.
LaschingerHKSGrauALFineganJ (2012) Predictors of new graduate nurses’ workplace well-being: Testing the job demands-resources model. Journal of Health Care Management37(2): 175–186.
18.
LaschingerHKSLeiterMDayA (2009b) Workplace empowerment, incivility, and burnout: Impact on staff nurse recruitment and retention Outcomes. Journal of Nursing Management17: 302–311.
19.
LaschingerHKSWilkPChoJ (2009a) Empowerment, engagement and perceived effectiveness in nursing work environments: Does experience matter?Journal of Nursing Management17: 636–646.
20.
LautiziMLaschingerHKSRavazzoloS (2009) Workplace empowerment, job satisfaction and job stress among Italian mental health nurses: An exploratory study. Journal of Nursing Management17: 446–452.
21.
LuthansFAvolioBJAveyJB (2007a) Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology60: 541–572.
22.
LuthansFNormanSMAvolioBJ (2008) The mediating role of psychological capital in the supportive organizational climate – employee performance relationship. Journal of Organizational Behaviour29: 219–238.
23.
LuthansFYoussefCMAvolioBJ (2007b) Psychological Capital: Developing the Human Competitive Edge, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
24.
LuthansKWJensenSM (2005) The linkage between psychological capital and commitment to organizational mission: A study of nurses. Journal of Nursing Administration35(6): 304–310.
25.
NeddN (2006) Perceptions of empowerment and intent to stay. Nursing Economics24(1): 13–18.
26.
PolitDFBeckCT (2012) Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott William & Wilkins.
27.
SchaufeliWBBakkerAB (2004) Job demands, job resources, and their relationship within burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behaviour25: 293–315.
28.
SchaufeliWBBakkerABSalanovaM (2006) The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross sectional study. Educational and Psychological Measurement66: 701–716.
29.
SchulmanP (1999) Applying learned optimism to increase sale productivity. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management19: 31–37.
30.
SimbulaSGuglielmiDSchaufeliWB (2011) A three-wave study of job resources, self-efficacy, and work engagement among Italian schoolteachers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology20(3): 285–304.
31.
SPSSIncorporated (2010) SPSS for Windows Standard Version 19.0, Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.
32.
StajkovicADLuthansF (1998) Social cognitive theory and self-efficacy: Going beyond traditional motivational and behavioural approaches. Organizational Dynamics26: 62–74.
33.
SweetmanDLuthansF (2010) The power of positive psychology: Psychological capital and work engagement. In: BakkerABLeiterMP (eds) Work Engagement, Madison Avenue, NY: Psychology Press, pp. 54–68.
34.
TrincheroEBrunettoYBorgonoviE (2013) Examining the antecedents of engaged nurses in Italy: Perceived organizational support (POS); satisfaction with training and development; discretionary power. Journal of Nursing Management21(6): 805–816.
35.
World Health Organization (2006) World Health Report 2006: Working Together for Health. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. http://www.who.int/whr/2006/en.
36.
XanthopoulouDBakkerABDemeroutiE (2007) The role of personal resources in the demand-resources model. International Journal of Stress Management14: 121–141.
37.
XanthopoulouDBakkerABDemeroutiE (2009) Reciprocal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior74: 235–244.
