Editorial summary. This is our text summary of an article published by nursing-reports. Charts, figures, and the author’s full voice are at the original — read it there .
Editorial verdict
Methodologically limited but directionally credible. The cross-sectional convenience sample from Facebook groups constrains generalizability, and the R² values (13.7%–23.4%) indicate engaging leadership explains only a modest portion of variance in quiet quitting — treat the directional findings as hypothesis-generating, not confirmatory.
Executive summary
This cross-sectional study examines the relationship between engaging leadership and two nurse workforce outcomes — quiet quitting and work engagement — among a convenience sample of 404 Greek nurses surveyed in October 2024. The authors argue that engaging leadership, grounded in Self-Determination Theory, reduces quiet quitting and improves work engagement by fulfilling nurses' fundamental psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Using three validated instruments (Engaging Leadership Scale-12, Quiet Quitting Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-3), and applying multivariable linear regression adjusted for sex, age, shift work, understaffing, and work experience, the study finds that the 'connecting' dimension of engaging leadership is negatively associated with detachment and lack of initiative, while the 'inspiring' dimension is negatively associated with detachment and lack of motivation, and positively associated with work engagement. Notably, 66.6% of participants were classified as quiet quitters, and mean work engagement was moderate. The authors position this as the first study to examine engaging leadership and quiet quitting in nursing, and the second to examine engaging leadership and nurse work engagement. Cross-sectional design, convenience sampling, and self-report bias are acknowledged as key limitations.
Key insights
- 166.6% of the 404 Greek nurses in the sample were classified as quiet quitters using the recommended cut-off score of 2.06 on the Quiet Quitting Scale, indicating a high prevalence in this population.
- 2Among the four dimensions of engaging leadership, 'inspiring' was the only dimension independently associated with work engagement in multivariable analysis (adjusted beta = 0.400), while 'connecting' and 'inspiring' were the dimensions associated with reductions in specific quiet quitting factors.
- 3The multivariable models explained only 13.7% to 23.4% of variance in quiet quitting factors and 16.4% of variance in work engagement, indicating that engaging leadership is one of multiple contributing factors and the majority of variance remains unexplained.
Practical takeaways
- Organizations examining supervisor behavior in nursing contexts may find the 'inspiring' and 'connecting' dimensions of engaging leadership to be the factors most associated with reduced quiet quitting and improved work engagement in this Greek sample.
- The high proportion of nurses working in understaffed wards (82.2%) and on rotating shifts (71.8%) in this sample represents a contextual condition that co-occurs with quiet quitting, though the study's design cannot establish causal direction.
Frameworks mentioned
Engaging Leadership Scale-12
A 12-item validated scale developed by Schaufeli measuring four dimensions of engaging leadership: strengthening, connecting, empowering, and inspiring
Self-Determination Theory
A motivational theory positing that individuals are driven by three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which forms the theoretical basis for engaging leadership
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-3
A validated ultra-short 3-item measure of work engagement scored on a seven-point Likert scale, with higher values indicating greater engagement
References
- European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies / WHO Regional Office for Europe (2024).Strengthening Europe's Nursing Workforce: Strategies for Retention.
- Gallup (2022).Is Quiet Quitting Real?.
- International Nursing Review (2024).Nurses Quietly Quit Their Job More Often than Other Healthcare Workers: An Alarming Issue for Healthcare Services.
- Human Resources for Health (2024).Engaging Leadership and Nurse Well-Being: The Role of the Work Environment and Work Motivation — A Cross-Sectional Study.
- AIMS Public Health (2023).The Quiet Quitting Scale: Development and Initial Validation.
- Career Development International (2015).Engaging Leadership in the Job Demands-Resources Model.
- Frontiers in Psychology (2021).Engaging Leadership: How to Promote Work Engagement?.
- National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (2023).NCSBN Research Projects Significant Nursing Workforce Shortages and Crisis.
Source & Provenance
nursing-reports
Ioannis Moisoglou, Aglaia Katsiroumpa, Ioanna V. Papathanasiou, et al.
July 4, 2025
Research Study
Europe
Original source metadata is preserved. AI analysis is generated separately.
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