Impact of Organisational Climate on Nurses’ Commitment at Public Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Background: Nurses represent most healthcare professionals. They work in different healthcare organisations and play a vital role in improving the quality of healthcare. Consequently, it is essential to study the factors that influence nurses' organisational commitments. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of organisational climate and nurses' commitment in Saudi Arabian public hospitals and to explore the correlation between hospital climate and nurses' commitment.

Methods: a quantitative cross-sectional method conducted at the Al-Zulfi General Hospital, Riyadh; King Abdul-Aziz Hospital, Makkah; and King Fahd Central Hospital, Jazan. The Data was collected from 343 participants by using electronic questionnaire in English distributed for the period between 01/03/2021 to 01/04/2021. The questionnaire is composed of three parts: demographic data, a three-component model (TCM) of employee commitment, and an organisational climate questionnaire (OCQ). The sample size was calculated based on the Steven K. Thompson equation. The data were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests to identify the differences in organisational commitment and organisational climate among participants’ characteristics. Correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between organisational commitment and organisational climate.

Results: The results demonstrated a significant positive moderate correlation between nurses’ commitment and hospital climate, where r = 0.580 and P < 0.001. We found that organisational commitment was observed as significantly correlated with gender, nationalities and hospital; also, organisational climate was perceived as significantly correlated with gender, nationalities, marital status, years of experience and hospitals with a p-value < 0.05. It is evident that improving organisational climate leads to an increase in nurses’ commitment.

Conclusion: Improving the organisational climate could help to promote nurse retention and enhance nursing commitment. The current study recommends that nurse managers pay careful attention to the organisational environment to increase organisational commitment, which can contribute to positive attitudes and appreciation for the organisation.