The relationship between organizational commitment and work engagement among clinical nurses in China: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to investigate the levels of organizational commitment and work engagement among clinical nurses in tertiary hospitals and explore the relationship between them.

Background: The nursing literature supports the idea that organizational commitment plays an important role in positively influencing job performance. However, the relationship between organizational commitment and work engagement among clinical nurses remains unclear.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A convenience sample of clinical nurses (n = 621) was selected from five tertiary hospitals in Sichuan Province of China. Survey instruments included a general information questionnaire about organizational commitment and work engagement. Univariate analysis, correlation analyses and linear regression analysis were used to examine the association between organizational commitment and work engagement.

Results: The mean scores for organizational commitment and work engagement were 3.85 ± 0.59 and 4.58 ± 1.46, respectively. A moderate degree of positive correlation was found between them. Gender, monthly income and retention commitment were significantly associated with work engagement, and they accounted for 39.0% of the total variance.

Conclusions: Clinical nurses had a moderate level of organizational commitment and a high level of work engagement. Organizational commitment positively influenced work engagement; that is, organizational commitment is a significant determinant of nurses' work engagement.

Implications for nursing management: Hospital organizations should focus on assessing and strengthening nurses' organizational commitment to promote increased work engagement and, ultimately, improved quality of care. This may include, but is not limited to, increasing rest time for nurses, implementing a performance appraisal system and focusing on nurses' psychological state.

Keywords: nurse; organizational commitment; work engagement.