The Impact of Psychological Empowerment on Organizational Commitment among Nurses

Background and Objectives: Accelerated demand for health services together with the increasing lack of skillful health human resources have highlighted the importance of organizational commitment (OC) to health system performance. Recent studies have identified psychological empowerment (PE) as a potential driver of OC. However, the relation between the two constructs is less explored in the healthcare context of Iran. Hence, this study was designed to explore the relationship between OC and EC from the viewpoint of nursing staff.   Methods: A sample of 225 nurses from the three teaching hospitals affiliated with Kashan University of Medical Sciences (Central Iran) was randomly selected to answer the research questionnaires. PE was measured by a 12-item questionnaire Meaning, Competence, Self-determination, and Impact as subscales. OC was assessed using a 15-item single factor questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Findings: PE (r = 0.457, P < 0.01) and all of its dimensions showed significant correlations with OC. PE significantly predicted the OC (β = 0.383, P < 0.001). Three dimensions of PE, including Meaning, Self-determination, and Competence were significant predictors of OC and together explained 26.8% of its variance. Meaning was found as the strongest predictor of OC. Conclusions: Our results provided additional support for the positive impact of PE on nurses’ OC and encourage hospital administrations and health policy-maker to seek for PE promotion strategies to achieve higher human resources performance. Based on our data, strategies promoting the perceived job meaningfulness and the work importance will have the largest positive impacts.