HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, vol. 25, no. 2, Summer 2014 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21189 213
Job Resources as Antecedents
of Engagement at Work: Evidence
From a Long-Term Care Setting
Daria Sarti
How to improve employees’ work engagement currently represents one of
the most important areas of concern for organizations. Within the broader
research field on work engagement and its antecedents, this study analyzes
one specific aspect: the role of job resources in determining employees’
engagement at work. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was
performed, along with a basic descriptive analysis, to examine a sample
of 167 caregivers (registered nurses, nurse managers, home helpers,
nurse’s aides, and certified nursing assistants) in nine long-term care
(LTC) facilities in Italy. The results suggest that work engagement among
caregivers in the LTC sector is significantly influenced by job resources. In
particular, greater learning opportunities have direct effects on increasing
work engagement among health-care service employees. Furthermore,
coworker support and supervisor support also play a statistically significant
positive role in stimulating work engagement.
Key Words: work engagement, job resources, caregivers, long-term care
sector, learning opportunities, coworker support, supervisor support
Introduction
The long-term care (LTC) sector is recognized as an important part of the
socio-health system and has strong development potential. This sector has
undergone rapid growth in recent years in the member countries of the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In addi-
tion, further increases in the demand for LTC services are expected over the
next decade (Simonazzi, 2009).