The association between workplace social capital and authentic leadership, structural empowerment and forms of communication as antecedent factors in hospital nurses: A cross-sectional multilevel approach.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To identify the effects of authentic leadership, structural empowerment and forms of communication as antecedent factors of workplace social capital in nursing. BACKGROUND: Enhancing workplace social capital for nurses by management requires identifying antecedent factors of workplace social capital focusing on work environment and relationships between members. METHODS: In 2019, self-administered questionnaires were sent to all nurses working on the general wards of two university hospitals in Japan. A multilevel analysis was conducted to evaluate relationships between perceived workplace social capital-the dependent variable-and authentic leadership, structural empowerment and forms of communication-the individual- and ward-level independent variables. RESULTS: Data from 463 nurses and 28 nurse managers were analysed (valid response rates = 38.0% and 58.3%, respectively). Their average age was 28.64 years (standard deviation 7.00), and 93.5% were female. Ward-level authentic leadership and semi-formal communication were found to be significantly related to workplace social capital. CONCLUSION: More authentic leadership and communication to promote mutual understanding between members can foster workplace social capital among hospital nurses. These findings can help inform effective workplace training in hospitals. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Workplace social capital can be produced by improved management, environment and communication opportunities.