Organizational features of workplace and job engagement among Swiss healthcare workers

The aim of this study was to determine the engagement level among healthcare workers in a Swiss hospital, identifying organizational predictors that could affect it. A four-part survey (a demographic questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, Areas of Worklife Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire) was completed by 206 nurses and physicians. With regards to organizational predictors of job engagement, energy was primarily influenced by workload, involvement by values, and efficacy by reward. Moreover, we found that engagement might affect psychophysical health conditions: better health generally corresponds to higher levels of engagement. These results confirm that engagement is influenced by organizational variables and that engaged employees are generally more healthy and efficient. Therefore, interventions to minimize the impact of work stressors and to improve engagement are needed. Effective management of excessive workload, higher levels of autonomy, and greater job support are vital to limit psychological problems of healthcare workers.