Aims: To examine the associations between unit managers' authentic leadership with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and to investigate whether nurse tenure has a moderating effect on these associations.
Background: Authentic leaders create trusting relationships with their staff and help nurses become more satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organizations. Because nurses have different perceptions of their working environments based on their tenure, the effectiveness of managerial leadership differ accordingly.
Methods: This study is a cross-sectional secondary analysis using survey data from 1,118 staff nurses. To determine the significant tenure range for the associations between authentic leadership, job satisfaction and organizational commitment, the Johnson-Neyman method was used.
Results: Authentic managerial leadership perceived by staff nurses had positive associations with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The strengths of these associations were attenuated with nurse tenure and were no longer significant for nurses with more than 20 years of tenure.
Conclusions: Although authentic leadership in managers was effective, the strengths of its effectiveness varied based on nurse tenure.
Implications for nursing management: According to nurse tenure, differentiated approaches are needed to increase the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of staff nurses.
Keywords: authentic leadership; job satisfaction; nurse retention; nurse tenure; organizational commitment.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.