Linking Toxic Leadership With Work Satisfaction and Psychological Distress in Emergency Nurses: The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict

Abstract

IntroductionToxic leadership is a prevalent issue within health care organizations, including emergency departments. No studies have been found specifically examining these issues among emergency nurses. This study examined the mediating effects of work-family conflict on the relationship between toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers and psychological distress and work satisfaction among emergency nurses. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was used to gather data from 285 Filipino emergency nurses, using 4 validated measures. Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS Macro with Model 4. ResultsToxic leadership had a direct negative effect on work satisfaction (β = −0.3313, P<.001) and a direct positive effect on psychological distress (β = 0.0945, P = .0491). Work-family conflict partially mediated the relationship between toxic leadership and both psychological distress (β = 0.0217, SE = .0141, 95% CI = 0.0002-0.0538) and work satisfaction (β = −0.0438, SE = 0.0216, 95% CI = −0.0884 to −0.0049). DiscussionThe study findings highlighted the negative influence of toxic leadership behaviors on the overall work satisfaction and psychological well-being of emergency nurses. In addition, this study identified work-family conflict as a mechanism that explained how the toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers influenced the psychological well-being and job satisfaction of emergency nurses. The results of this study underscore the need for interventions and strategies to address toxic leadership and mitigate the negative consequences it poses to emergency nurses’ well-being.