The experience of organisational commitment, work engagement and meaning of work of nursing staff in hospitals

Abstract

Nursing as a profession presents an interesting context for studying meaning of work, as it centres on the care of patients; the motivation behind choosing such a profession. Furthermore, taking into consideration the current economic situation and the shortage of nurses in the country, it is important to investigate the kind of impact that the meaning they receive from their work may have on their commitment to the hospital and their level of engagement in their work. What nurses do and how well they do it relates directly to the quality of care the patient receives. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between meaning of work, organisational commitment and work engagement among nurses of various hospitals in the Vaal Triangle. Also investigated were biographical factors such as gender, race, age, citizenship, qualification, years of service, job level and employment status. A survey design was used on a sample of nurses (N = 199) in hospitals. A biographical questionnaire, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and Work-Life Questionnaire were administered. The statistical analyses were carried out by means of SPSS (2009). Factor analyses were conducted to determine construct validity and Cronbach’s alphas and inter-item correlation coefficients assessed the internal consistency of the instruments. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0,94 to 0,62 were obtained for the above-mentioned questionnaires. Results showed that the majority of nurses viewed their work as either a job or a calling. More African nurses viewed their work as a calling than did any other race group. Younger workers, specifically those with a Grade 12 qualification, viewed their work as a career, while the more experienced nurses and those on management level viewed their work as either a career or a calling. Furthermore, nurses viewing their work as a calling are more committed to the organisation and more engaged in their work, whereas nurses viewing their work as a job are less committed and engaged. Lastly, a positive relationship exists between organisational commitment and work engagement. Therefore, the more strongly nurses view their work as a calling, the more committed they will be to the hospital and the more engaged they will be in their work. Based on the above findings, recommendations were made for the hospitals and future research.