The influence of authentic leadership and supportive professional practice environments on new graduate nurses’ job satisfaction

Abstract

It is important to uncover new approaches to attracting and retaining newly qualified nurses in Canada to address the growing nursing workforce shortage. Authentic leadership theory proposes mechanisms that allow managers to create positive and supportive environments that facilitate new graduate nurses’ transition into practice and subsequently improve nurses’ and organizational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model linking authentic leadership to new graduate nurses’ job satisfaction through its effect on supportive professional practice environments. A secondary analysis of data ( n = 93) from a larger study of new graduate nurses in their first two years of practice was conducted. Mediation multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the influence of authentic leadership and supportive professional practice environments on new graduate nurses’ job satisfaction. Measures of the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ), the Revised Nursing Worklife Index (NWI-R) and the North Carolina Center for Nursing – Survey of Newly Licensed Nurses (NCCN-SNLN) were used. Supportive professional practice environment partially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and new graduate nurses’ job satisfaction. The findings suggest that managers who demonstrate authentic leadership create supportive professional practice environments and are more likely to enhance new graduate nurses’ job satisfaction.