Impact of toxic leadership on staff nurses’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment at a general hospital

Background Leaders who exhibit toxic behaviors create a negative work environment that directly affects nurses’ job satisfaction. This, in turn, undermines their commitment to the organization, affecting retention rates and the quality of patient care. Aim The study aimed to assess the relation between toxic leadership, staff nurses’ job satisfaction, and organizational commitment at a general hospital. Design A descriptive correlational design was used in the study. Setting The study was carried out at Jazan Public Hospital located in Saudi Arabia. Sample A convenient sample (320) of staff nurses who agreed to participate in the study. Tools To achieve the aim of the present study, four tools were used to collect data. (1) Staff Nurse’s Personal and Work-Related Data Sheet. (2) The Toxic Leadership Behaviors of Nurse Managers Scale. (3) Nurses’ Job Satisfaction Assessment Questionnaire. (4) Nurses’ Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. Results The majority of the studied staff nurses (77.9%) perceived a high toxic leadership among their nurse managers, and only (6.9%) of them perceived a low toxic leadership among their nurse managers. There was a low (mean%=35.8 and 38.5%) job satisfaction and organizational commitment among staff nurses, respectively. Conclusion The current study findings concluded that the majority of the studied staff nurses (77.9%) perceived a high toxic leadership among their nurse managers, less than half of them (40.6 and 39.6%) had low job satisfaction and low organizational commitment, respectively. There were statistically significant strong negative correlations between toxic leadership with both job satisfaction ( r =−0.87, P =0.00) and organizational commitment ( r =−0.89, P =0.00). Recommendations Healthcare organizations implement targeted leadership training programs focused on emotional intelligence, effective communication, and conflict resolution to mitigate the effects of toxic leadership and foster a supportive, positive work environment that enhances job satisfaction and organizational commitment among staff nurses.