Mediation Effect of Head Nurse’s Emotional Leadership Between Nursing Work Environments and Quality of Nursing Work Life in Small and Medium Hospital

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate on the mediating effects of head nurse’s emotional leadership on the psychological support of nurses between the nursing work environments and the quality of nursing work life(QNWL). To achieve the purpose of the study, data collection was conducted from December 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. Prior to the study, YSUIRB-201812-HR-042-02 was approved by Y University Institutional Review Board(IRB). A total of 220 copies were distributed to nurses who worked in a small hospital, had a clinical career of 6 months or more, worked in a nursing unit for at least 6 months, and agreed to the purpose of this study. The final 213 copies were used for analysis. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 24.0 program. As a result, in the first step, the nursing work environments, which is a predictor variable, significantly explained the head nurse’s emotional leadership. In the second stage, nursing work environments significantly affects the QNWL, which is a dependent variable. In the third stage, nursing work environments and head nurse’s emotional readership. Based on the above results, it was confirmed that the leadership of head nurses such as emotional leadership, in addition to the improvement of the nursing work environment, would be effective in improving the QNWL as a solution to the serious shortage of nurses in Korean small and medium hospitals.