The Relationship between Work Engagement of Middle-to-older-aged Nurses and Nursing Competency

Abstract

Objectives: To elucidate the work engagement and competency of middle-to-older-aged nurses in non-managerial positions, the relationship thereof, and relevant influential factors.

Methods: A self-recorded questionnaire survey was performed by ward nurses aged ≥40 years. Their work engagement and competency were evaluated by the "Japanese version of the short Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-J)" and the "Nursing Excellence Scale in Clinical Practice –ward nurses–(NES)," respectively. Furthermore, influential factors were set based on previous research.

Results: A total of 39 hospitals cooperated in this survey nationwide. We distributed questionnaires to 1,691 nurses, and obtained responses from 892 nurses (response rate: 52.7%), with valid responses from 869 nurses (valid response rate: 97.4%). The mean "UWES-J" score was 2.61 points (SD=1.2) for non-managerial positions and 3.11 (SD=1.1) for managerial positions, whereas the mean "NES" was 120.6 (SD=19.9) points for non-managerial positions and 127.0 (SD=19.8) for managerial positions. The "UWES-J" and "NES" scores were significantly lower for non-managerial positions than those for managerial positions (p<0.01). Furthermore, a relatively strong relationship was observed between "UWES-J" and "NES" (non-managerial: r=0.466, p<0.01; managerial positions: r=0.400, p<0.01). The "UWES-J" and "NES" of non-managerial positions were affected by the "sense of growth."

Discussion: The result suggested that improved support to enable a sense of growth might improve the work engagement of middle-to-older-aged nurses in non-managerial positions and lead to a display of greater nursing competency.