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Distributed leadership and nurses’ job satisfaction: a survey

Roberta Sammut (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta)
Benjamin Briffa (Mater Dei Hospital, Msida, Malta)
Elizabeth A. Curtis (School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland)

Leadership in Health Services

ISSN: 1751-1879

Article publication date: 5 February 2021

Issue publication date: 5 April 2021

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between perceived distributed leadership and job satisfaction among nurses. Leadership is central to improving quality care. Reports following investigations of poor care standards, identified inadequate leadership as a contributory factor and called for a new kind of leadership. One alternative is distributed leadership. Evidence suggests associations between leadership and job satisfaction but, there is a paucity of research examining associations between distributed leadership and job satisfaction: the purpose of this study was to address this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey design was used and data collected via questionnaires. Using census sampling, 350 nurses in a hospital in Malta were selected. A response rate of 50% (n =176) was achieved. Data were analysed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression. Ethical approval was obtained from relevant committees/individuals.

Findings

Results indicated a moderate application of perceived distributed leadership and application of all components of distributed leadership could be improved. Nurses were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their jobs. Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between distributed leadership and job satisfaction. Multiple regression showed that commitment and participative decision-making were major predictors of job satisfaction while supervision by managers had a negative effect.

Practical implications

Improving distributed leadership is a priority in the nursing profession.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to show that distributed leadership has a positive effect on job satisfaction among nurses. Supervision, a constituent of distributed leadership, was associated with reduced job satisfaction, therefore reducing this is paramount.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Ethical approval: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee and the University of Malta Research Ethics Committee; Ref no: FRECFHS_1819_003.

Conflict of Interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding or sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, etc.

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Citation

Sammut, R., Briffa, B. and Curtis, E.A. (2021), "Distributed leadership and nurses’ job satisfaction: a survey", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 37-51. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-07-2020-0052

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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