The Moderating Effect of Emotional Competence on Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment of Healthcare Professionals
Abstract Background Medical organisations such as hospitals are largely seen as task-based, wherein different individuals are expected to work in interdependent teams. The present study seeks to demonstrate the relevance of individual factors (job satisfaction) and individual competences (emotional competence) for organisational commitment in a sample of healthcare professionals. Methods Using multi-source data, the empirical study examined the interaction effect by analysing data collected from 96 healthcare professionals of five hospitals in Germany. To investigate the relationship between emotional competence, job satisfaction and organisational commitment, moderated regression analysis, as well as simple slope analysis, were performed. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analysis shows that emotional competence moderated the relationship between satisfaction with the job and commitment to the job. Our findings confirm that healthcare professionals with high emotional competence are able to deal more effectively with dissatisfaction in the workplace so that organisational commitment remains unaffected. Conclusion Based on the results of this study, emotional competence of healthcare professionals is important for increasing job satisfaction and commitment to the job. Especially for healthcare professionals whose job satisfaction is low, a high level of emotional competence enables them to maintain a high level of organisational commitment. The findings of the study are discussed at the theoretical level for researchers and practical level for hospital managers.