Authentic leadership as a source of optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement in the public health care sector

Frederick W Stander,Leon T De Beer,Marius W Stander

doi:10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.675

Frederick W Stander, Leon T De Beer + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.675

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Abstract

Orientation: The orientation of this study is towards authentic leadership (AL) and its influence on optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement of employees in the public health care sector.Research purpose: The objectives of this study were to determine whether the leadership style of AL could predict optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement amongst a large sample of employees from various functions in public hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and to establish whether optimism and trust in the organisation could mediate the relationship between AL and work engagement.Research approach, design and method: A convenience sample of 633 public health employees from various functions within 27 public hospitals and clinics in the province was used in this research. A cross-sectional research design was implemented. Structural equation modelling was utilised to investigate the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI), and the validity and fit of the measurement model, to position AL as a job resource within the nomological net and to test its mediating effects.Main findings: The statistical analysis revealed that AL was a significant predictor of optimism and trust in the organisation and that optimism and trust in the organisation mediated the relationship between AL and work engagement.Practical/managerial implications: The research results suggested that organisations in the public health care sector should encourage their managers to adopt a more authentic leadership style. This will lead to higher levels of optimism, trust in the organisation and eventually work engagement. This will greatly assist employees in the domain of public health care to manage their demanding working environment.Contribution: This study provides evidence that the ALI can be used reliably within the South African context and specifically within the public health care sector. It further substantiates for the implementation of AL as a leadership style in the South African public health care sector, supporting work that has been done internationally in health care where AL has been associated with a number of positive outcomes. Finally, the study puts forward two practical suggestions, on both an individual and an organisational level, to facilitate a culture in which AL can be translated more effectively into an engaged workforce.

Highlights

In a significant strategic mission statement, the Department of Health (2011) in South Africa recently articulated a renewed focus on effective leadership as a vocal point of a government function that fulfils a critical role in the country’s development
Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the overall measurement model, which included all study variables as singular latent variables in one model, was a good fit to the data: the comparative fit index (CFI) (0.95) and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) (0.94) were both above the lower bound cut-off point of 0.90 and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (0.06) was below the value of 0.08
The objectives of this study were to determine whether the leadership style of authentic leadership (AL) could predict optimism, trust in the organisation and work engagement amongst a large sample of employees from various functions in public hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and to establish whether optimism and trust in the organisation could mediate the relationship between AL and work engagement

Summary

Introduction

In South Africa, access to primary health care is a fundamental human right This being said, the public health care sector has been plagued by a number of very pressing challenges. These include difficulty in implementing institutional policies that direct the public health care sector (Pillay, 2009), lack of and ill distribution of resources (Christian & Crisp, 2012), a national disease burden that is estimated to be four times worse than in developed countries (Department of Health, 2011) and a workforce that is continuously migrating to the private health care sector where perceived resources and working environment are considered more favourable (Ashmore, 2013)

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