P-178 JOB DEMANDS, JOB RESOURCES, MEANINGFUL WORK AND WORK ENGAGEMENT OF NURSES

Nursing is one of the most trusted professions in society and it is often referred to as the backbone of any healthcare system. However, nursing is also one of the most stressful occupations in the field of healthcare. Factors that influence the work environment include socio-political changes, technological advances and healthcare reforms, all of which affect the way nurses remain engaged in their work. Nurses are expected to deliver quality healthcare amidst a rapidly changing work environment and are therefore required to be resilient and agile. Quantitative, survey study. This study investigated ‘job demands’ (emotional demands, role ambiguity and workplace violence) and ‘job resources’ (autonomy, career advancement opportunities, leader-member exchange and meaningful work) which may impact the work engagement levels of nurses in both public and private hospitals. The sample consisted of 420 nurses working in both public and private hospitals in Johannesburg, South Africa. The findings confirmed that the predictors for work engagement differed between the public and private sector nurses. Emotional demands was the only job demand that predicted work engagement for the public sector nurses. None of the job demands (emotional demands, role ambiguity and workplace violence) influenced the work engagement levels of the private sector nurses. In the public sector, meaningful work and career advancement as job resources predicted work engagement, whereas in the private sector, meaningful work, career advancement and leader-member exchange predicted work engagement.