The Role of Employee Engagement in the Relationship between Staff Morale and Employee Wellbeing of Nurses in the South African Public Hospitals

Abstract

Employee engagement is essential for corporate success and is a requirement for gaining and retaining a competitive edge in public hospitals. This study assesses the role of employee engagement on the relationship between staff morale and employee wellbeing of nurses in public hospitals. A quantitative approach using self-administered questionnaires was applied to 461 nurses in the public hospitals of six provinces in South Africa for data collection. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) application was used to analyse the data obtained in the research. Ethical considerations were applied throughout the research process. Employee engagement was significantly and partially related to staff morale and employee wellbeing, and staff morale and employee wellbeing were significantly and related to employee engagement. Furthermore, the study determined that employee engagement has a mediating and moderating role in the relationship between staff morale and employee engagement. The study concluded that is that management needs managers should bring teamwork, motivation, trust, engagement, growth, and development to their employees, to identify their believes, hope, values, interests, and needs and know to what extent it matches with the hospital values, believes and goals.