Employees are critical to the success of an organization, including healthcare facilities. Typically, nursing leaders can advocate for their employees, which usually has a positive effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In particular, nurses help employees create values ​​that align with those of the organization (Amos & Weathington, 2008). The nurses can advocate for their employees in different ways, depending on the type of the organizational culture of the medical facility they work at. For instance, in the power-oriented organizations, nurses can support their subordinates in the decision-making, and in the person-oriented organizational culture, nurses can create the prerequisites for more informal communication so that employees have more space for self-reflection.
Nurses’ advocacy for employees can have far-reaching and immediate consequences. For example, if an employee is stressed by a lot of new information and lack of experience, the nurse leader can support him with helpful advice. At the same time, if an employee has problems communicating with other employees, or is being bullied, the nurse leader can speak in support of him to senior management and help solve the problem. As a result, junior staff will provide better care to patients, as they can better cope with their responsibilities while being in a more balanced mental state.
Notably, nurses are officially mandated to advocate for their employees by The Code: Professional Standards of Practice and Behavior for Nurses and Midwives. In this Code, the four themes of prescribed society include prioritizing employees, good practice, maintaining safety, and promoting professionalism and trust among employees (Nightingale, 2014). In doing so, the Code assumes that understanding the organizational structure will help the nurse in the best way to accomplish the tasks of advocating their employees.
References
Amos, E. A., & Weathington, B. L. (2008). An analysis of the relation between employee—Organization value congruence and employee attitudes.The Journal of Psychology, 142(6), 615-632. Web.
Nightingale, A. (2018). Developing the organisational culture in a healthcare setting.Nursing Standard, 32(21), 53-63. Web.