Distributed leadership as a predictor of employee engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intention in UK nursing staff*

Abstract

To investigate how distributed leadership via the Shared Governance programme influences employee engagement, empowerment, job satisfaction and turnover intentions among direct care nursing staff in a large UK hospital. Increasing turnover rates and shortages of health care staff in the UK has called for interventions to improve employee engagement and job satisfaction. 116 direct care nursing staff were sampled in a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design. A maximum variance sample of 15 participants were subsequently interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of the motivations and attitudes that influenced employee outcomes through distributed leadership. Higher levels of distributed leadership predicted increased employee engagement and job satisfaction, and lower turnover intentions. Staff also felt more empowered and committed to the organisation despite some challenges experienced in implementing the Shared Governance programme. Distributed leadership was found to be beneficial in promoting employee engagement and empowerment, increasing job satisfaction and organisational commitment and reducing turnover intention in the UK health care setting. By encouraging the practice of distributed leadership at work, health care staff can become more engaged and empowered, leading to higher rates of job retention, job satisfaction and organisational commitment.