Organizational Support and Job Satisfaction of Frontline Clinical Managers: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement
Effective frontline clinical managers (FLM’s) strongly influence the safe and optimal delivery of healthcare. However, the motivational potential of FLMs working with limited job resources can be hindered, affecting healthcare unit staff morale and adversely impacting organizational performance and patient outcomes. Since managers act as role models for employees, it is crucial for organizations to understand the positive influence of job resources on motivation in order to foster positive FLM working conditions and promote their effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to test propositions drawn from the Job Demands Resources Model, specifically the motivational pathway, to examine the relationships among frontline managers’ perceived organizational support, work engagement and job satisfaction. A secondary analysis of data collected from a predictive, non-experimental survey of FLM’s (n=159) from 14 Ontario teaching hospitals was conducted. Work engagement partially mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction. Further, both work engagement and perceived organizational support were significant predictors of job satisfaction and accounted for 44% of the variance in job satisfaction. Results suggest the need for organizations to provide working conditions that are conducive to higher levels of FLM work engagement and job satisfaction ultimately contributing to safe and effective care delivery.
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