Antecedents and outcomes of empowerment - Empirical evidence from the health care industry

Using a statistical model, this study examined the correlates and consequen ces of psychological empowerment among a group of 612 technically skilled, professional, and managerial hospital employees (129 men and 483 women). Wh ereas individual as well as group and organizational characteristics influe nced feelings of empowerment, group and organizational variables accounted for more variance in empowerment than did the individual variables. Empower ment perceptions increased with organizational rank and with leader approac hability, group effectiveness, and worth of group. Individuals with more te nure in the organization felt more empowered; however, men and women, and W hites and non-Whites reported no significant differences in feelings of emp owerment. Empowerment perceptions also were associated with increased job s atisfaction and work productivity/effectiveness, as well as a decreased pro pensity to leave the organization.