Perceived Organizational Support and Work Engagement of First-Line Managers in Healthcare - The Mediation Role of Feedback Seeking Behavior

Nadežda Jankelová; Zuzana Joniaková; Zuzana Skorková

doi:10.2147/JMDH.S326563

Perceived Organizational Support and Work Engagement of First-Line Managers in Healthcare - The Mediation Role of Feedback Seeking Behavior

J Multidiscip Healthc. 2021 Nov 9:14:3109-3123. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S326563. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Nadežda Jankelová¹, Zuzana Joniaková¹, Zuzana Skorková¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia.

Abstract

Background: First-line managers play a significant role in the management system of a health-care organization because they provide support and bridge for both senior management and their subordinates. Their work engagement becomes the foundation of facility functioning, encompassing both meeting organizational goals and the patient-centered care approach, but also meeting the expectations and needs of subordinate staff. The purpose of our study is to examine the relationship between perceived organizational support and work engagement of first-line health-care managers and the deeper mechanisms in the form of feedback seeking behavior that may positively influence this relationship.

Methods: Data collection was carried out in the form of a questionnaire survey in the period February 2021. Respondents were first-level medical managers from different types of clinical areas and from all Slovak hospitals (221). The PLS-SEM method was used to analyze paths between variables and to analyze direct and indirect effects using SmartPLS 3.3 software.

Results: The findings indicate a positive association of perceived organizational support and work engagement. Hypotheses about the mediation of the two components of feedback seeking behavior (monitoring and inquiring) have support in both their separate and joint mediation. At the same time, in joint mediation, a larger part of the indirect effect is transmitted by the feedback seeking behavior inquiring and thus represents a possible direction of interest for the top management of hospitals to strengthen the work engagement of their first-level managers not only for the purpose of their higher performance, but also of their job satisfaction.

Conclusion: Perceived organizational support enhances the work engagement of first-line managers. However, the total effect is significantly higher when feedback seeking behavior is involved not only in monitoring, but especially in inquiring.

Keywords: Slovakia; feedback seeking behavior; hospitals; perceived organizational support; work engagement.

Grants and funding

The research was supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences VEGA (Project No. 1/0017/20) (Changes in the Application of Managerial Functions in the Context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Adaptation Processes of Businesses in Slovakia). Research was also supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences VEGA Project No. 1/0412/19 Systems of Human Resources Management in 4.0 Industry Era.