The Relationship Between Nurses' Environmental Empowerment and Psychological Empowerment and Psychological Strain in Critical Care Work Environments

Abstract

The present study examines the relationship between nurses' environmental and psychological empowerment on psychological strain in critical care nursing work environments. Quality of medical care is to a great extent dependent upon the mental well being of health care professionals. Numerous studies have found that workplace stressors that result in psychological strain in critical care nursing environments are significant and associated with a negative impact on performance. Employee empowerment may help to determine workplace factors that help nurses cope with psychological strain. Randolph, Blanchard (1997) and Spreitzer (1995) proposed theories of empowerment that show promise for developing management strategies that enhance organizational success and that they are correlated with reduced psychological strain. The problem is that few studies use empowerment with nurses in a critical care environment. A t-test revealed a significant difference between nurses that had high levels of empowerment and those with low levels empowerment with regard to strain. Additionally, overall empowerment accounted for 28% of the variance in strain and clear structures and team accountability were significant predictors of strain.