Emergency department nurses' intrinsic motivation: A bridge between empowering leadership and thriving at work

Background: The relationship between empowering leadership, intrinsic motivation, and thriving at work among emergency department nurses is unclear. Thriving at work can raise employees' job satisfaction and lower their tendency to quit. High workloads and unpleasant workplace experiences may result in emergency department nurses thriving less at work. It has been demonstrated that intrinsic motivation and empowering leadership are both linked to thriving at work in employees.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between empowering leadership and thriving at work among emergency department nurses, as well as the mediating function of intrinsic motivation in this relationship.

Methods: The 337 emergency department nurses were polled using general information questionnaire, Empowering Leadership Scale, Intrinsic Motivation Scale, and Thriving at Work Scale. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

Results: Positive relationships existed between thriving at work and empowering leadership and intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation was a mediator of the relationship between empowering leadership and thriving at work.

Conclusions: Intrinsic motivation is one mechanism by which empowering leadership can influence emergency department nurses thriving at work. Nurse managers should adopt an empowering leadership style and take steps to activate the intrinsic motivation of emergency department nurses, thereby increasing nurses' ability to thrive at work.