An empirical study of nurses' emotional involvement

Objective: This research was undertaken to identify the key elements of emotional involvement in nurses through the use of a set of individual, job related and attitudinal factors. Methods: The study was conducted as a statistical-empirical cross-sectional study. The methodology used to achieve our research objective is based on the binary logistic regression model. This statistical technique determines the probability of an event occurring -emotional involvement in this case- as compared to the probability that the opposite attitudinal state will occur. A sample involving 260 nurses was collected from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey, 2010. Results: 230 nurses and 30 male nurses took part in the 5th European Working Conditions Survey-2010, providing information about their working environment and employment situation. 75.4% of those nurses who participated in the research proved to have a high level of emotional involvement in their workplace. There is a positive relationship between job involvement and several occupational factors. Conclusions: As a result, it was discovered that the likelihood of feeling involved with the nursing profession increases if accompanied by three fundamental work conditions: a) employment stability with a permanent contract, b) the performance of challenging and complex tasks, and c) the opportunity to take part in organizational decisions. It is suggested that Human Resources managers should act in accordance with these organizational guidelines in the company set-up so that their nurses feel more involved and integrated in their profession.