Leadership Styles and Nurses’ Job Satisfaction. Results of a Systematic Review

Maria Lucia Specchia, Maria Rosaria Cozzolino, Elettra Carini, Andrea Di Pilla, Caterina Galletti, Walter Ricciardi and Gianfranco Damiani
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Maria Lucia Specchia: Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Via della Pineta Sacchetti, 00168 Rome, Italy
Maria Rosaria Cozzolino: Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito, 00168 Rome, Italy
Elettra Carini: Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito, 00168 Rome, Italy
Andrea Di Pilla: Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito, 00168 Rome, Italy
Caterina Galletti: Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito, 00168 Rome, Italy
Walter Ricciardi: Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Via della Pineta Sacchetti, 00168 Rome, Italy
Gianfranco Damiani: Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Via della Pineta Sacchetti, 00168 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Healthcare organisations are social systems in which human resources are the most important factor. Leadership plays a key role, affecting outcomes for professionals, patients and work environment. The aim of this research was to identify and analyse the knowledge present to date concerning the correlation between leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. A systematic review was carried out on PubMed, CINAHL and Embase using the following inclusion criteria: impact of different leadership styles on nurses’ job satisfaction; secondary care; nursing setting; full-text available; English or Italian language. From 11,813 initial titles, 12 studies were selected. Of these, 88% showed a significant correlation between leadership style and nurses’ job satisfaction. Transformational style had the highest number of positive correlations followed by authentic, resonant and servant styles. Passive-avoidant and laissez-faire styles, instead, showed a negative correlation with job satisfaction in all cases. Only the transactional style showed both positive and negative correlation. In this challenging environment, leaders need to promote technical and professional competencies, but also act to improve staff satisfaction and morale. It is necessary to identify and fill the gaps in leadership knowledge as a future objective to positively affect health professionals’ job satisfaction and therefore healthcare quality indicators.

Keywords: leadership; job satisfaction; nursing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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