Effect of authentic leadership on Nurses’ psychological distress and turnover intention

Abstract

BackgroundAt healthcare institutions, authentic leadership style has a crucial role in creating a positive work environment where nurses show higher levels of engagement and less intent to leave their jobs in environments where authentic leadership has been exhibited. AimThisstudysoughttoinvestigate authentic leadership effects on nurses’ psychological distress and their turnover intention. DesignA cross-sectional descriptive study. SettingsThe study was conducted at Kafr Elsheikh University hospitals in Egypt. ParticipantsNurses working at Kafr Elsheikh University hospitals in Egypt were enrolled (N = 285). MethodsAuthentic leadership self-assessment questionnaire, Kessler psychological distress scale, and Michaels and Spector’s (1982) 3-item scale to measure turnover intentions were used. ResultsAuthentic leadership style has a statistically significant negative relationship with psychological distress (r = -0.28), and turnover intention was found (r = -0.18) retrospectively. Whereas the results indicated that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between psychological distress and turnover intention (r = 0.52). ConclusionThis study provided additional knowledge about authentic leadership behaviors’ role in promoting psychological well-being, decreased level of nurses’ psychological distress, and their intention to leave their work