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BackgroundEmpowerment of hospital workers is known as a key factor of organizational performance and occupational health. Nevertheless, empowering workers remains a real challenge. As in many traditional organizations, hospitals follow a bureaucratic model defined by a managerial culture of control and a stratified organization, which at once weaken professionals’ mastery of their work and hinder their commitment and performance. Based on the existing literature this protocol describes a new managerial and organizational transformation program as well as the study design of its effect on worker empowerment in a large French public hospital. The project is funded by the French Ministry of Health for a total of 498,180 €.MethodsThis study is a randomized controlled trial conducted in a French university hospital complex (CHU). The CHU comprises 12 sub-centers (SC) with about 20 care units and 1000 employees each. Randomization is performed at SC level. The intervention lasts 12 months and combines accompaniment of healthcare teams, frontline managers and SC directors to empower first-line professionals in the experimental SC. Quantitative outcome measurements are collected over 2 years during mandatory check-ups in the occupational medicine department. The primary outcomes are structural and psychological empowerment, motivational processes, managerial practices, working conditions, health and performance. Mixed linear modeling is the primary data analysis strategy.DiscussionThe protocol was approved by the CHU health ethics committee. The results of the analysis of the intervention effects will be reported in a series of scientific articles. The results will contribute to reflection on prevention and management policies, and to the development of Workplace Quality-of-Life. If the intervention is a success, the system will warrant replication in other SCs and in other health facilities.Trial registrationThe study was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on July 4, 2019 (NCT04010773).

Leader empowering behaviours and their relation with worker's satisfaction Current state: Nurse's work is physically and mentally demanding. Adequate knowledge and skills are also needed. Nurse managers whose leader empowering behaviours administer to good functioning of medical institutions have therefore a crucial role. In these days a monitoring of job satisfaction is an upcoming matter. According to that we can look for drawbacks and problems and take corrective actions. There is a 9th year of the nationwide research of safety and satisfaction of employees of Czech hospitals. Aim: The first aim of the research was to find out what leader empowering behaviours are used the most by nurse managers. The second aim was to find out how leader empowering behaviours influence satisfaction with work conditions of nurses. Two hypotheses were given. The first hypothesis postulated that nurse managers use democratic empowering behaviours the most. The second hypothesis postulated that satisfaction with work conditions of nurses is changeable, depending on leader empowering behaviours. Methodology: A quantitative method of data capture was chosen. Non-standardised questionaires with 30 closed questions were given out. There were four questions at the beginning to identify respondents. Other set of 15 questions was focused on recognition of leader empowering behaviours. Satisfaction with work conditions was monitored in the last set of questions. Results of the research were processed into graphs and tables. Research set: The research set included nurses working under nurse managers in inpatient wards in České Budějovice a.s. hospital. The questionaire was appropriately filled in by 112 nurses, corresponding 74,7% recoverability. This was used to complete the aim of this thesis. Results: Results of the thesis were divided into two sets. The first set of questions aimed on leader empowering behaviours of managers under whom the questioned nurses of particular departments work. Democratic empowering behaviours were evaluated the most used, according to the first hypothesis. The second set of questions aimed on satisfaction with work conditions. The highest job satisfaction was reached with democratic empowering behaviours. Autocratic, liberal and nonspecific empowering behaviours were used in minimal degree and nurses reported lower job satisfaction among these behaviours. Therefore the second hypothesis was also confirmed. Conclusion: The research pointed out that leader empowering behaviours are one of the factors that influence job satisfaction. It is positive thing that an interest and research in this area increased in the last decade. Periodic evaluation of job satisfaction enables monitoring the direction of its values. According to the survey, a newsletter with recommendations for nurse managers was formed. This newsletter pointed out pros and cons of leader empowering behaviours.