REDUCING ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS: INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AS A HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Internal communication has a positive impact on job satisfaction and employees' commitment to the organization. However, little has been discussed about its positive and negative impacts in hospital organizations. This study aims to analyze how hospital employees evaluate the internal communication strategies and how internal communication affects employees' feeling of pride in belonging to the organization. This case study was carried out in a philanthropic hospital organization in a city in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul. It consisted of the application of a questionnaire to 89 employees, in loco observations and analysis of the organization's internal documents. It was observed that the hospital has few formal internal communication channels, centralized management, and predominantly vertical communication flows, which obey a hierarchy. The results have evidenced that the evaluation of internal communication strategies depends on the gender and the education level of the employee. In addition, employees showed more pride in belonging to the organization whenever it valued their spontaneous manifestations and when the communication process promoted integration among sectors.