A part of the quadruple aim is that nurses feel joy and find fulfillment in their work. This healthy workplace environment translates into job satisfaction, decreased burnout, and improved patient care outcomes. A healthy work environment enables nurses to provide the highest standards of compassionate patient care while being fulfilled at work (Ulrich et al., 2022).
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, early studies have found that nurses are fearful, distressed, and traumatized; many intend to leave the profession. In research by Zhao et al., nurses in China who provided direct patient care during the worst outbreak phase experienced significant psychological distress.
Still, their work environments could mitigate psychological distress. Less distressed nurses had managers with an inclusive leadership style. Inclusive leaders involved their staff in decisions, a form of empowerment that created workplace environments that were perceived to be mentally healthy.
Before the pandemic, the nursing workforce was already under strain. The challenge will be creating conditions to maintain and sustain a healthy nursing workforce. This challenge begins with nurse and healthcare leaders whose leadership and management styles create healthy, productive workplace environments for their staff and whose leadership values align with the models of nursing care that they are promoting (Gottlieb et al., 2021).
Nurses’ job satisfaction and psychological, emotional, and physical health are related to autonomy, agency, and empowerment. These factors are affected by nurse leadership, the culture in their units and their organization, and the opportunities created for staff. Nurse managers can facilitate empowering work conditions and promote collaborative inter-professional and intra-professional relationships (Gottlieb et al., 2021).
Policies must seek to empower their staff and provide autonomy and agency. Resources must be provided for education for both staff and managers. Resources can prove challenging. Encouraging managers and staff to collaborate and provide time for such may also seem daunting, but in the end, it will be worth the expense of a healthy, happy staff and improved patient outcomes.
Gottlieb, L. N., Gottlieb, B., & Bitzas, V. (2021). Creating Empowering Conditions for Nurses with Workplace Autonomy and Agency: How Healthcare Leaders Could Be Guided by Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare Leadership (SBNH-L). Journal of Healthcare Leadership, Volume 13, 169–181. https://doi.org/10.2147/jhl.s221141Links to an external site.
Ulrich, B., Cassidy, L., Barden, C., Varn-Davis, N., & Delgado, S. A. (2022). National Nurse Work Environments – October 2021: A Status Report. Critical Care Nurse, 42(5), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2022798Links to an external site.
Zhao, F., Ahmed, F., & Faraz, N. A. (2020). Caring for the caregiver during COVID-19 outbreak: Does inclusive leadership improve psychological safety and curb psychological distress? A cross-sectional study. International journal of nursing studies, 110, 103725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2020.103725
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