Abstract
Background: Nurses consistently earn the highest trust among professionals in the United States, but the profession experiences high turnover rates, amplified by the increasing demands of an aging population. This study explores factors such as psychological safety, neuroticism, person-group fit, authentic behavior, work engagement, job satisfaction, and turnover intention among nurses. Additionally, it examines the concept of self-verification perception as a mediator of the effects of authentic behavior.
Methods: Data were collected from 956 nurses across the United States using an online questionnaire. Path analysis was employed to analyze the data to identify direct and mediated effects. Psychological safety was measured using Edmondson’s (1999) scale, neuroticism was measured using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and person-group fit was measured with newly developed items.
Results: The results indicate that creating a psychologically safe environment and recognizing individual differences in neuroticism are significantly associated with authentic behavior within the workplace. This authentic behavior, in turn, is positively linked to how individuals perceive their identity in the workplace and their level of engagement. The study also revealed that individuals' self-verification perception influences the relationship between authentic behavior and job satisfaction. The research indicates that nurturing authentic behavior can enhance nurses’ job satisfaction and work engagement while reducing their intentions to leave their positions. This has significant implications for policy and practice, providing a roadmap for enhancing the workplace experiences of nurses and improving retention rates.
Discussion: This study explores how authentic behavior influences nursing outcomes. By creating psychologically safe environments and promoting alignment, authentic behavior can result in heightened job satisfaction and engagement among nurses while increasing job satisfaction. Fostering authenticity can play a crucial role in addressing high turnover rates in nursing, leading to improvements in patient care and organizational stability.
Conclusion: Promoting authentic behavior among nurses is essential for improving their work experiences and ensuring retention. Implementing interventions to enhance psychological safety and encourage genuine self-expression can profoundly impact nurses' and healthcare organizations' general effectiveness.
Notes
References:
Brenan, M., & Jones, J. M. (2024, January 22). Ethics ratings of nearly all professions down in U.S. Gallup News.
Bethel, C., Rainbow, J. G., & Dudding, K. M. (2021). Recruiting nurses via social media for survey studies. Nursing Research, 70(3).
Cha, S. E., Hewlin, P. F., Roberts, L. M., Buckman, B. R., Leroy, H., Steckler, E. L., ... & Cooper, D. (2019). Being your true self at work: Integrating the fragmented research on authenticity in organizations. Academy of Management Annals.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (2008). The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). The SAGE Handbook of Personality Theory and Assessment, 2.
Do Bú, E. A., Dos Santos, V. M., Lima, K. S., Pereira, C. R., de Alexandre, M. E. S., & dos Santos Bezerra, V. A. (2022). Neuroticism, stress, and rumination in anxiety and depression of people with Vitiligo: An explanatory model. Acta Psychologica, 227, 103613.
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2).
Hong, Y., Qiu, M., Liu, L., Huang, F., Wang, K., & Lin, R. (2023). Surface acting, emotional exhaustion, career calling and turnover intention among student nurses: A cross-sectional study. Nurse Education in Practice, 69, 103641.
Judge, T. A., Zhang, S. C., & Glerum, D. R. (2020). Job satisfaction. Essentials of job attitudes and other workplace psychological constructs, In V. I. Sessa and N. A. Bowling (Eds.) Essentials of job attitudes and other workplace psychological constructs.
Kim, T. Y., Gilbreath, B., David, E. M., & Kim, S. P. (2019). Self-verification striving and employee outcomes: The mediating effects of emotional labor of South Korean
employees. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(7).
Metin, U. B., Taris, T. W., & Peeters, M. C. (2016). Authenticity at work: A job-demands resources perspective. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(2).
O’Donovan, R., & Mcauliffe, E. (2020). A systematic review of factors that enable
psychological safety in healthcare teams. International Journal for Quality in Health
Care, 32(4).
Sutton, A. (2020). Authenticity at work: A meta-analysis of the effects of authentic leadership on employee well-being and engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 35(7).
Swann, W. B., Jr. (1983). Self-verification: Bringing social reality into harmony with the self. Social Psychological Perspectives on the Self, 2.
Wiesenfeld, B. M., Swann, W. B., Brockner, J., & Bartel, C. A. (2007). Is more fairness always preferred? Self-esteem moderates reactions to procedural justice. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5).
Sigma Membership
Omicron Delta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Enhancing Professional Well-Being, Workforce, Stress and Coping
Recommended Citation
Love, Pamela J.; Gilbreath, Brad; Fu, Yubo; Rainbow, Jessica; Fiorini, Luke; and Baris, Veysel Karan, "Authentic Behavior of Nurses: Antecedents, Mediators, and Outcomes" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 106.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/106
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Authentic Behavior of Nurses: Antecedents, Mediators, and Outcomes
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Background: Nurses consistently earn the highest trust among professionals in the United States, but the profession experiences high turnover rates, amplified by the increasing demands of an aging population. This study explores factors such as psychological safety, neuroticism, person-group fit, authentic behavior, work engagement, job satisfaction, and turnover intention among nurses. Additionally, it examines the concept of self-verification perception as a mediator of the effects of authentic behavior.
Methods: Data were collected from 956 nurses across the United States using an online questionnaire. Path analysis was employed to analyze the data to identify direct and mediated effects. Psychological safety was measured using Edmondson’s (1999) scale, neuroticism was measured using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and person-group fit was measured with newly developed items.
Results: The results indicate that creating a psychologically safe environment and recognizing individual differences in neuroticism are significantly associated with authentic behavior within the workplace. This authentic behavior, in turn, is positively linked to how individuals perceive their identity in the workplace and their level of engagement. The study also revealed that individuals' self-verification perception influences the relationship between authentic behavior and job satisfaction. The research indicates that nurturing authentic behavior can enhance nurses’ job satisfaction and work engagement while reducing their intentions to leave their positions. This has significant implications for policy and practice, providing a roadmap for enhancing the workplace experiences of nurses and improving retention rates.
Discussion: This study explores how authentic behavior influences nursing outcomes. By creating psychologically safe environments and promoting alignment, authentic behavior can result in heightened job satisfaction and engagement among nurses while increasing job satisfaction. Fostering authenticity can play a crucial role in addressing high turnover rates in nursing, leading to improvements in patient care and organizational stability.
Conclusion: Promoting authentic behavior among nurses is essential for improving their work experiences and ensuring retention. Implementing interventions to enhance psychological safety and encourage genuine self-expression can profoundly impact nurses' and healthcare organizations' general effectiveness.
Description
Conference participants will explore the connections between psychological safety, neuroticism, authentic behavior, work engagement, job satisfaction, and turnover intention. Data from 956 nurses in the United States was analyzed and revealed links between psychological safety, neuroticism, and authenticity. Plus, authenticity was found to impact work engagement and job satisfaction through self-verification perception, significantly affecting employees' responses to their work environment.