Manager Communication Style and Work Engagement of Employees in Healthcare Services

Managers employed in public healthcare systems are in charge of many jobs, including administration and organisation of procedures, but the most important of all is human resource management. Every manager must have certain communication competencies because one of the main characteristics of good leadership is the quality of communication with employees. This research aimed to examine how the communication and support of the immediate superior, the nurse manager, affects the work engagement of nurses. The survey was conducted online based on a specially constructed questionnaire. The research sample consists of nurses employed in the public hospital system of the Republic of Croatia. The results showed that there were differences in the work engagement of nurses with respect to the perception of different communication styles of nurse managers, as well as that there was a correlation between the perception of nurse manager support and the work engagement of nurses. It was also found that there was a different association between different communication styles and supervisor support. Nurse managers do not work directly with patients, but the way they communicate indirectly affects the quality of health care. Therefore, it is extremely important to use an assertive communication style and provide support to nurses who directly pursue nursing care, which ultimately leads to a better quality of health care for the users.