Effects of self‐rated workload and nurse staffing on work engagement among nurses: A cross‐sectional survey.

Aim: To analyse net effects of self‐rated workload and nurse staffing (nurse‐to‐patient ratio and staff skill mix) on work engagement among clinical nurses. Background: Improving nurses' engagement is necessary to enhance patient outcomes, so factors that influence engagement should be explored. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted in 1,428 registered nurses from 145 units of 11 hospitals. A hierarchical linear model was used to analyse the data. Results: Self‐rated workload had a negative effect on engagement (β = −0.353, p <.001, effect size (f2) = 14.20%), while only one index of skill mix (percentage of nurses with ≤ 5 work years) had a significant effect on engagement, which was positive (β = 0.258, p <.05, f2 = 8.50%). These two variables explained 22.7% of the variance of engagement at the unit level (R2between = 22.7%, p <.05). No significant effect of staffing on self‐rated workload was found. Conclusions: Self‐rated workload had more effect on engagement than did staffing, and factors that influence self‐rated workload need to be explored. Implications for nursing management: Balancing the mix of experience levels in nursing teams may improve work engagement. Managers should pay attention to multiple strategies to motivate nurses to engage in work in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]