How to take care of nurses in your organization: Two types of exchange relationships compared

Aim
To explore the relationships between climate for well-being, economic and social exchange, affective ward commitment and job strain among nurses in the Netherlands.
Background
This study focuses on the immediate work environment of nurses by exploring the way nurse perceptions about the extent to which the ward values and cares for their welfare influence their levels of affective ward commitment and job strain. Second, this study extends previous research on exchange relationships by examining the potential differential impact of social and economic exchange relationships on commitment and job strain.
Design
A cross-sectional survey among nurses.
Methods
The study was conducted in the Netherlands in 2011. Validated measures of climate for well-being, social exchange, economic exchange, ward commitment and job strain were used. Hypotheses were tested using regression analyses. MacKinnon et al.'s (2007) guidelines to assess mediation were used.
Results
The response rate was 41% (271 questionnaires). The results show that climate for well-being positively influences social exchange relationships, which are in turn associated with enhanced ward commitment and reduced strain. Climate for well-being negatively influences evaluations of economic exchange, which are in turn negatively related to ward commitment.
Conclusion
This study shows that nurses use the information available in their immediate work environment to evaluate their exchange relationship with the organization. Second, the findings point towards the importance of economic and social exchange relationships as a mechanism between climate for well-being on the one hand and affective ward commitment and job strain on the other hand.