The impact of organisational values on nurse resilience: A mixed-methods study

Aim: To investigate the impact of organisational values on nurse resilience.

Background: Nurses encounter significant occupational adversity, which can result in negative psychological consequences. Investigating the role of resilience as a protective factor focuses on what enables some nurses to positively adapt in challenging work environments. Comparatively, little attention has been paid to organisational factors and nurse resilience.

Method: A two-phase mixed-methods design comprising a cross-sectional survey and focus groups.

Results: Three hundred and ninety-four nurses responded to the survey with 25 participating in four follow-up focus groups. Significant associations were found between resilience levels and agreement with organisational values (p = .022) and agreement about the importance of values (p = .018). Three themes relating to organisational values were identified: pressures and challenges; supports and strategies; and impact of organisational values.

Conclusions: Organisational values may positively impact resilience if nurses concur with those values and believe they are shared by their employer.

Implications for nursing management: To promote nurse resilience, organisations and nurse leaders should consider developing, implementing and operating with a set of employee-adopted values, which need to be demonstrably upheld across the organisation.