How Does Servant Leadership Nurture Nurses’ Job Embeddedness? Uncovering Sequential Mediation of Psychological Contract Fulfillment and Psychological Ownership

Abstract

Aim. This research aimed to explore how servant leadership nurtures nurses’ job embeddedness by uncovering the sequential mediation of psychological contract fulfillment and psychological ownership. Background. The healthcare of Pakistan is undergoing an acute shortage of 1.3 million nurses. The gap is widening due to unprecedented natural uncertainties (floods, earthquakes, COVID-19, dengue, polio, and monkeypox) and the large-scale brain drain of nurses. Therefore, exploring the underlying factors that could facilitate nurses’ job embeddedness is imperative. Methods. A cross-sectional research design was employed, wherein data were gathered in three rounds, two months apart, from 587 nurses employed in public hospitals in Pakistan, and analysis was performed with Smart-PLS. Results. Servant leadership positively influences nurses’ job embeddedness and psychological contract fulfillment. Besides, psychological contract fulfillment positively affects psychological ownership, and psychological ownership enhances nurses’ job embeddedness. Finally, psychological contract fulfillment and psychological ownership sequentially mediate the relationship between servant leadership and job embeddedness. Conclusions. This research emphasized the vitality of servant leadership in nurturing nurses’ job embeddedness. Implications for Nursing Management. Healthcare authorities should keenly focus on promoting servant leadership that shapes the positive perception of nurses about their psychological contract fulfillment and psychological ownership, which are essential resources to cherish nurses’ job embeddedness.