Exploring leading nurses' work values and their association with team safety climate.

Aim To explore leading nurses' work values and their effect on the safety climate in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Background Despite their significance for behaviour, the work values of leading nurses are still insufficiently studied. We explore the impact of work value dimensions (self-transcendence, self-enhancement, conservation, and openness to change) on the safety climate. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 86 German NICUs between September 2015 and August 2016. Our analyses relate questionnaire data from 75 leading nurses to the shared perceptions regarding safety among their team members (n = 1,277). We used fractional response modelling to identify important work values. Results The analysis showed differences between the dimensions of work values and their association with the safety climate. A significant positive association was found between the work value dimension self-transcendence (including the work values relationships with others and altruism) and safety climate (beta = 0.255, p = .001). A large team size has a negative impact on the safety climate. Conclusion The findings indicate that the leading nurse's score on self-transcendence is positively related to the safety climate. Implications for Nursing Management The results demonstrate that it might be useful to consider work values in the selection of nurse leaders.