The Association Between Appreciative Management And Work Engagement Among Health And Social Care Professionals

Abstract

Background: The level of health professional work engagement affects retention, burnout, job satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and outcomes; however, there is a paucity of evidence that benefit health professional work engagement. The importance of work engagement has been emphasized due to the increasing demand for health and social care and the shortage of skilled labor. Improving organizational and managerial factors is important when enhancing professionals' work engagement. The association between management and work engagement has only been established in previous studies at a general level, but the association between appreciative management and work engagement has not received equivalent research interest. Aim: This study aimed to describe the association between appreciative management and work engagement among health and social care professionals. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. The data were collected in five health and social services centers in Jeddah, KSA from January to March 2022 using the Appreciative Management Scale 2.0 and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-9. A total of 182 health and social care professionals participated. The data were analyzed using correlations, linear regression analyses, independent samples t-tests[1] and two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Results: A moderate association was found between appreciative management and work engagement and its dimensions of vigor, dedication and absorption. Systematic management had the strongest association and equality had the weakest association with work engagement. Among the dimensions of work engagement, appreciative management had the strongest association with vigor and the weakest association with absorption. Appreciative management and work type predicted 18% of the variance in work engagement. Full-time employees reported higher levels of work engagement and all its dimensions than did part-time employees. Conclusion:  The results indicate that appreciative management and full-time work predict work engagement among health and social care professionals. Due to this positive association, it is important to promote managers' appreciative management skills by educating them to understand how appreciative management enables and supports professionals' vigor, dedication and absorption in health and social care.