The Self-Perceived E-Learning Environment Scale: Development and Psychometric Properties in a Nursing Students Samples.

AIM: E-learning is increasingly used in education, creating a learning environment that needs to be studied thoroughly for developing new learning opportunities. BACKGROUND: Drawing from the community of inquiry framework, the present work provides the theoretical foundation and measurement validation of the Self-Perceived E-Learning Environment Scale (SEES). The SEES measures core aspects of the e-learning context: autonomous strategic planning, social interaction, and teacher feedback. METHOD: Through two studies carried out in sample of nursing students, an exploratory (n = 302) and confirmatory (n = 245) factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure. RESULT: The results provide empirical evidence of appropriate psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, validity). CONCLUSION: The SEES can be used in a higher education context, particularly in nursing education programs. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for exploring the e-learning environment in nursing educational settings are discussed.

Perceived organizational values and innovation: The role of transactive memory and age diversity in military teams.

This study investigates the mediating role of transactive memory system (TMS) in the relationship between perception of innovation value (VIN) and team innovation, as well as the moderating effect of age diversity for the TMS - team innovation relationship. The study of this moderated-mediation model concerning VIN, TMS, and team diversity as a contextual factor, is especially relevant in military teams which are directly concerned by military values, have high needs of effective coordination, and naturally are composed by young soldiers working with older leaders. To test our model, we evaluated 453 employees composing 48 military units from Italy's Air Force. Results confirmed that VIN is positively related to TMS, and that the latter has a positive effect on team innovation except at high levels of age diversity where the effect is reduced and non-significant. These findings highlight the importance of identifying and managing age differences, sharing common and distributed expertise, and promoting innovative initiatives in the military. Theoretical backgrounds, results, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

A cross-lagged analysis of the relationships among workgroup commitment, motivation and proactive work behaviour in nurses.

AIM: To elucidate how workgroup commitment and motivation jointly influence nurses' proactive behaviour. BACKGROUND: The need to offer effective patient care has encouraged health care organisations to promote proactive behaviours among nurses. Longitudinal relationships among motivation, commitment and nurses' proactivity remain unexplored. METHODS: A self-reported questionnaire was administered to nurses of an Italian hospital. A cross-lagged panel analysis was carried out. RESULTS: A total of 221 questionnaires were returned at Time 2 (T2). T1 affective workgroup commitment was positively related to T2 autonomous motivation and negatively related to T2 controlled motivation. T1 continuance workgroup commitment was positively related to T2 controlled motivation but unrelated to T2 autonomous motivation. T1 autonomous motivation was positively related to T2 proactive behaviour, while T1 controlled motivation was unrelated to it. Finally, no direct association between T1 commitment variables and T2 proactive behaviour was observed, suggesting that autonomous motivation fully mediated the affective commitment-proactive behaviour relationship. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the importance of workgroup affective commitment and autonomous motivation to foster nurses' proactive work behaviour. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers may foster affective workgroup commitment and ultimately promote nurse proactivity by creating a shared climate that supports occupational needs and values and encourages a positive affective state towards nursing practice.

Job Insecurity and Innovative Work Behaviour: A Psychological Contract Perspective.

Innovation is considered to be of crucial importance for organisational survival and growth, and in this respect employees play a leading role, as they are the ones who develop innovative ideas. At the same time, the struggle for organisational survival and growth gives rise to perceptions of job insecurity. To date, few studies have explored how employees' innovative work behaviour (IWB) is influenced by the perceived threat of job loss (i.e. job insecurity). As both job insecurity and IWB are increasingly salient in light of organisational change and competition, the present study examines the relationship between job insecurity and IWB, as well as the role of psychological contract breach in explaining this relationship. We hypothesized a negative relation between job insecurity and innovative work behaviour, with psychological contract breach as a mediator in this relationship. Participants were 190 employees from an industrial organisation that had faced restructuring and downsizing for several years. Contrary to our predictions, no direct association was found between job insecurity and the two sub-dimensions of innovative work behaviour (i.e., idea generation and idea implementation). Indirect relationships, however, were found between job insecurity and the two types of IWB through psychological contract breach. Surprisingly, psychological contract breach was positively related to idea generation and idea implementation. These findings shed new light on the relationship between job insecurity and IWB.

[Proactive orientation toward work safety: a qualitative study on motivational antecedent]. / Orientamento proattivo alla sicurezza nel lavoro: studio qualitativo degli antecedenti motivazionali.

OBJECTIVES: Meta-analyses and research have highlighted the importance of employees' participation in workplace safety. METHODS: The present research designs an original model of proactive safety orientation which considers existing constructs of proactivity, adapted to organizational safety issues in the workplace. Qualitative data was obtained through semi-interviews with 18 expert of safety and analysed using content analysis. RESULTS: Findings shows six dimensions of proactivity that can be attributed to three managerial areas of Reason, competence, cognizance and commitment.

Perceived organisational support, organisational commitment and self-competence among nurses: a study in two Italian hospitals.

AIM: This study examined the contributions of perceived organisational support (POS) and organisational commitment (i.e. affective, continuance and normative) to self-competence among nurses. BACKGROUND: In high-POS environments, workers benefit from socio-emotional resources to improve their skills, while positive forms of commitment (e.g. affective commitment) create a fertile context for developing one's competencies. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the nursing staff of two Italian urban hospitals (hospital A, n = 160; hospital B, n = 192). A structured questionnaire was administered individually to the nurses. Data analysis was conducted through multi-group analysis and supplemented by a bootstrapping approach. RESULTS: The results showed that POS was positively related to self-competence through affective commitment. In contrast, continuance and normative commitment did not mediate this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that supporting employees through caring about their well-being as well as fostering positive forms of organisational commitment increases nurses' self-competence. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers may increase support perceptions and commitment among their staff by rewarding their contributions and caring about their well-being, as well as concentrating on training strategies that improve work-related skills.

A multilevel investigation on nursing turnover intention: the cross-level role of leader-member exchange.

AIM: To analyse nursing turnover intention from the unit by using multilevel approach, examining at the individual level, the relationships between job characteristics, job satisfaction and turnover intention, and at the group level the role of leader-member exchange. BACKGROUND: Research on nursing turnover has given little attention to the effects of multilevel factors. METHOD: Aggregated data of 935 nurses nested within 74 teams of four Italian hospitals were collected in 2009 via a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Hierarchical linear modelling showed that job satisfaction mediated the relationship between job characteristics and intention to leave at the individual level. At the unit level, leader-member exchange was directly linked to intention to leave. Furthermore, cross-level interaction revealed that leader-member exchange moderated the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This study supported previous research in single-level turnover studies concerning the key role of job satisfaction, providing evidence that job characteristics are important in creating motivating and satisfying jobs. At the unit-level, leader-member exchange offers an approach to understand the role of unit-specific conditions created by leaders on nurses' workplace wellbeing. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: This study showed that it is important for nursing managers to recognise the relevance of implementing management practices that foster healthy workplaces centred on high-quality nurse-supervisor relationships.

Newcomer nurses' organisational socialisation and turnover intention during the first 2 years of employment.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine which organisational socialisation contents affect turnover intention in newcomer nurses within their first 2 years of employment. BACKGROUND: Strategies to decrease turnover are a priority for improving organisational stability, reducing costs and enhancing effective nursing care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional design was employed, and standardised scales were used. The sample was divided into three groups: 0-6, 7-12 and 13-24 months of employment. Regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 156 Italian nurses participated in this study. In the 0-6 months group (model 1), the main factors that decreased turnover intention were competence acquisition (ß = -0.42, P < 0.01) and comprehension of organisational rules (ß = -0.38, P < 0.01). In the 7-12 months group (model 2), workgroup integration was relevant (ß = -0.33, P = 0.02) and in the second year (model 3), the main factor was opportunities for professional development (ß = -0.30, P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Newcomer nurses were sensitive to different organisational socialisation contents over time. This result supports planning different on-boarding strategies to enhance organisational socialisation success and to improve nurse retention. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Useful strategies to improve retention include enhancing task mastery and workgroup integration at the ward level and a professional development plan at the organisational level.

[Organizational socialization in the first three years of nursing profession: strategies to decrease turnover intention]. / La socializzazione organizzativa nei primi tre anni di professione infermieristica: strategie per ridurre l'intenzione di turnover.

INTRODUCTION: In the first years of nursing profession, new-graduate nurses' turnover intention is a relevant issue due to both the tangible and intangible costs it generates to health care organizations, such as selection and recruitment costs, ward team burden in the onboarding process and the possibility to enhance ward team stability in order to provide an effective and safe nusing care. Organizational socialization is the main factor involved in these dynamics of turnover intention in the first years of nursing profession. AIMS: This study aims to identify the main factors involved in the organizational socialization process to reduce turnover intention in the first 3 years of nursing profession. METHODS: 101 new-graduate nurses have been enrolled within the first three years of nursing profession. They have been stratified looking at tenure and years in nursing. Organizational Socialization Inventory scale has been used to assess the onboarding process and 4 items to assess turnover intention. RESULTS: Turnover intention is of 23% in the first year in nursing, and it's over the 26% starting from the second year. The onboarding process explains over the 26% of the variance in turnover intention, and over the 36% in the sub-sample with a stable tenure. Unstable tenured nurses prefer to acquire those competences useful to perform their work, while stable tenure nurses aim to search for professional growth opportunities and integration in the ward-team, in order to reduce turnover intention. CONCLUSION: Turnover intention is relevant in the first three years of nursing profession. According to the different tenure, different strategies are necessary to plan an effective onboarding process and enhance nursing retention.

The roles of unit leadership and nurse-physician collaboration on nursing turnover intention.

AIM: To report a study of the relationship between variables at the group and individual level with nurses' intention to leave their unit. BACKGROUND: Workplaces are collective environments where workers constantly interact with each other. The quality of working relationship employees develop at the unit-level influences both employee outcomes and unit performance by shaping employee attitudes. DESIGN: The study was a cross-sectional design with self-administered questionnaires. METHODS: A questionnaire including measures of leader-member exchange and nurse-physician collaboration analysed at group-level and affective commitment and turnover intention analysed at individual level, was administered individually to 1018 nurses in five Italian hospitals. Data were collected in 2009. RESULTS: A total of 832 nurses (81·7% response rate) completed questionnaires. The results showed that affective commitment at individual level completely mediated the relationship between leader-member exchange at group-level and nursing turnover intention. Furthermore, the cross-level interaction was significant: at individual level, the nurses with high levels of individual affective commitment towards their unit showed low levels of turnover intention and this relationship was stronger when the nurse-physician collaboration at group-level was high. CONCLUSION: This study showed the importance for organizations to implement management practices that promote both high-quality nurse-supervisor and nurse-physician relationships, because they increase nurses' identification with their units. Individual affective commitment is an important quality for retaining a workforce and good nurses' relationship at group-level relationships with both supervisors and physicians are instrumental in developing identification with the work unit. Thus, the quality of relationship among staff members is an important factor in nurses' decision to leave.

Mindsets of commitment and motivation: interrelationships and contribution to work outcomes.

Two studies are reported that investigate the relationships among commitment and motivation mindsets and their contribution to work outcomes. Study 1 involved 487 nurses from a hospital in the center of Italy. Results showed that commitment's facets were related to parallel dimensions of work motivation. Study 2 involved 593 nurses from a hospital in the north of Italy. Analyses indicated that commitment and motivation were important antecedents of working attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, self-determined motivation played a critical mediating role in positive behaviors. Findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications for organizations and employees.

[The intention to leave a hospital: individual, occupational and organizational charactersitics of a sample of nurses in Northern Italy]. / L'intenzione di turnover dall'ospedale: caratteristiche individuali, lavorative ed organizzative di un campione di infermieri del Nord Italia.

Turnover represents a problematic phenomenon due to both staff management and costs related to the quality of care. Turnover is quite studied in other Countries, but it is still little studied in Italy. The aim of this study was to analyzing psychosocial factors related to intention to leave the hospital, by using theoretical models from literature and applying them in the health context. The study involved 1295 nurses from North-Italy. The results showed that intention to leave may be considered the most direct predictor of turnover behavior. In fact, the demand for mobility to another hospital was requested by nurses with high level of intention to leave. Among examined individual and organizational characteristics, we found that young nurses with high education had higher turnover intention than old nurses. Moreover, nurses with high level of intention to leave not only perceived a low affective commitment to the unit, but also a low quality of relationship with both supersiors and physicians. The findings have important implications for both nurses and hospitals by helping to promote effective work environments, thus reducing turnover intention.

Psychological Capital, Autonomous Motivation and Innovative Behavior: A Study Aimed at Employees in Social Networks.

The present study investigates the relationship between positive psychological capital (PsyCap) and innovative work behavior (IWB), as mediated by autonomous motivation and participative leadership moderation. The study was conducted on a sample of 246 employees from various public and private organizations, recruited through different social networks. The moderated mediation analysis provided evidence about the impact of employees' PsyCap on their innovative behavior at work. This behavior will be higher when individual factors (PsyCap) and social factors (participative leadership) interact with one of the most self-determined forms of motivation. Our findings highlight the importance of the individual's positive psychological capital in activating the resources and motivation, necessary to develop innovative behavior in employees, thus achieving organizational success in today's dynamic and competitive business environment. The results also confirmed the moderating effect of participative leadership on the relationship between autonomous motivation and innovative behavior of employees, supporting that the relationship will be stronger when participative leadership is higher. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as well as limitations and suggestions for future studies.

Emotional labor as emotional regulation: Italian adaptation and longitudinal validation of the scale among undergraduate nursing students.

AIM: The aim of the present study is to perform a longitudinal Italian validation of the scale and to adapt it to the nursing education contest. BACKGROUND: Research on emotional labor has shown that the roles played by surface acting and deep acting are still uncertain. To overcome this gap, scholars suggest observing emotional labor through the lens of the emotional regulation theory. Andela and her colleagues developed a fine grained instrument, which differentiates attentional deployment, cognitive re-evaluation and expressive suppression, emotional amplification and emotional dissonance. DESIGN: To fulfill our aim, a longitudinal study was performed in an Italian University. METHOD: The adapted scale was administered to 168 nursing students across the three years of attendance in the course. RESULTS: Our results confirm the five-factor structure, and the instrument shows good psychometrical properties. CONCLUSION: Having shown satisfactory psychometric properties, this scale can be considered a useful instrument to assess those emotional elements of clinical practice, which are important for the assurance of education quality to the under graduated nursing students.

Change-related expectations and commitment to change of nurses: the role of leadership and communication.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model linking the impact of expectations on commitment to change and to explore whether change-related communication is a mediating variable between leader-member exchange and expectations. BACKGROUND: Expectations for change outcomes are an important condition to increase nurses' commitment to change. To understand the role of leadership and communication in expectations development is crucial to promote commitment to change. METHOD: A predictive, non-experimental design was used in a random sample of 395 nurses. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the hypothesized model. RESULTS: Positive expectations had a direct effect on affective commitment to change, whereas negative expectation had a direct effect on continuance commitment to change. Leader-member exchange and communication influenced nurse's expectations about change. Communication partially mediated the relationship between Leader-member exchange and expectations. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that nurses' expectation about change were strongly linked to commitment to change. Furthermore, the enhancement of communication and relationship with leader contributed to the development of positive and negative expectations. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Strategies to promote commitment to change include developing positive expectations about change outcomes and building high-quality leadership style oriented to the communication.

[The worries and anxieties of nurses involved in the reorganization of a department]. / Le preoccupazioni degli infermieri coinvolti in un progetto di riorganizzazione dipartimentale.

INTRODUCTION: The change process generally elicits reactions not always positive, although expected. AIM: To describe the reactions to change before and after one year from implementation. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to a group of nurses before and after their wards was moved to a new surgical department with a totally different organization. RESULTS: The nurses remained moderately worried before and after the change. Worries for the impact of the change on the patients and themselves significantly increased. Nurses with 4-14 years of experience expressed higher levels of concern. CONCLUSIONS: The worries are a normal reaction but their better understanding may give indications on support strategies.

The emotional side of the e-learning among nursing students: The role of the affective correlates on e-learning satisfaction.

Emotions are a core component of the learning process, which impact not only academic performance, but also the way we perceive our training, including the full remote training. The present studyaims to investigate the mediating role played by positive and negative emotions in the relationship between the cognitive and the social presence of the e-learning environment and the satisfaction with e-learning. Based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and on a cross-sectional study, our theoretical model was assessed (by using structural equation modelling) in a sample of 353 undergraduate nursing students at an Italian university. The results showed that the students' e-learning experience is related to both positive and negative emotions in different ways, which in turn impacts the satisfaction with the e-learning. Thus, findings highlight the complex interplay between e-learning perceptions, affective correlates and satisfaction with remote training. Theoretical and practical implications related to the development of educational interventions are further discussed.

Turnover intention among Italian nurses: the moderating roles of supervisor support and organizational support.

The purpose of this study was to examine the variables that are related to person-environment fit in Italian nurses, highlighting the role of supervisor support and organizational support in the relationship between nurses' perceptions of care adequacy, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Therefore, 1240 nurses from three hospitals completed a self-administered questionnaire. The results showed that supervisor support and organizational support act differently as moderators of the care adequacy-job satisfaction-turnover intention relationship. Finally, job satisfaction was a mediating variable between care adequacy and turnover intention. These findings have important implications for hospitals because they help to promote effective work environments and to reduce turnover intention.

[Intention to leave the hospital among nurses with ≤ 3 years of work experience: an exploratory study]. / L'intenzione di lasciare l'ospedale degli infermieri con esperienza lavorativa ≤ 3 anni. Uno studio esplorativo.

INTRODUCTION: The retention of nursing workforce is one of the challenges of nursing managers. Since the turnover intention is associated to the real turnover, a deeper understanding of reasons why young nurses would leave the hospital could give some hints to help to retain them. AIM: To explore the factors that affect the turnover intention in nurses with a work experience <3 years. METHODS: Nurses with <3 years of experience, working in 3 large Italian hospitals completed a questionnaire aimed at exploring the turnover intention, job satisfaction, perception of self-competence, organizational commitment, perception of organizational support and of the quality of delivered care, asking to express their agreement on a likert scale from 1 to 5. RESULTS: The results showed that 34.4% of the nurses intended to leave the hospital within 1 year, 43.8% of them had already asked to be transferred a to another hospital. The majority of nurses who intended to leave were male, with a full time employment and living farther than 30 kilometers from the hospital. Moreover they were less satisfied with their current job, for the relationship with the colleagues, the Nurse Manager and the physicians, perceived themselves less competent, less committed to their unit and less supported by the organization compared with than nurses who intended to stay. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the importance of increasing job satisfaction and organizational commitment for nurses'retention.

How Digital Technologies Modify The Work Characteristics: A Preliminary Study.

New technologies with unprecedented agentic capabilities (i.e., action selection, protocol development) are now introduced in organizations such as Big Data, 3D printing or artificial intelligence. Because they are endowed with novel capabilities that might compete with human agency, they might disrupt the way employees work. Based on the work design model, this study aims to examine their introduction in the daily work activities and the consequent perceptions of the work characteristics. Building on Murray's et al. (2020) proposal, we offer a classification of the digital technologies to conceptualize their relationship with the work characteristics. To explore the changes induced by two digital technologies (i.e., drones, robotic automation process), we interviewed 3 types of employees (i.e., experts, managers, users) from an organization which has started a digitalization process and we conducted a thematic analysis. Our analysis revealed three main themes that are discussed: A technological theme (arresting, assisting), a work characteristic theme and a theme about the human-technology relationship (agentic, non-agentic). Results showed that employee autonomy has not been reduced when digital technologies executed repetitive and unmotivated tasks and that jobs in the digital work context may be marked by a high level of knowledge characteristics. Moreover, technologies with agentic capabilities may be perceived as a non-human agent. Theoretical contributions for the work design model are then examined.