Nursing research
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Leadership style has been defined as a two-factor construct composed of "consideration" and "initiating structure." Research has suggested that these factors affect the behavior and attitude of subordinates. This study's purpose was to quantify the relationships of head nurse leadership style with self-reported staff nurse burnout and job satisfaction in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Three instruments--the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Tedium Scale, and the Leadership Opinion Questionnaire--were voluntarily completed by 283 registered nurses employed by 14 level-III NICUs in the United States. ⋯ Satisfaction and burnout of staff nurses in each of the leadership-style groups were then compared. Analysis of variance for satisfaction (F(3,279) = 3.10, p = .03) and burnout (F(3,279) = 3.90, p = .01) were both significant. For both satisfaction and burnout, the head nurse leadership classification of low consideration-high structure was most deviant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)