The lived experiences of occupational health nurses on their self-leadership behaviour in an industrial work environment in Cape Town

Abstract

Implementing self-leadership is essential with changes in nurses' work and role performances in healthcare organisations. Nurses' tasks need behavioural change to experience work autonomy and enable them to cope with challenges in their daily work life. It is unclear how professional nurses experience their self-leadership behaviour in an industrial work environment. This study departed from the behavioural-focused approach by concentrating on increasing self-awareness, which will lead to those behaviours that involve the necessary competencies one needs for task performance. This study aims to explore and describe the experiences of occupational health nurses in terms of their self-leadership behaviour in an industrial work environment in Cape Town. An exploratory, descriptive, contextual qualitative study was conducted. Purposive sampling was carried out, and 14 individual semi-structured interviews were undertaken with OH nurses working in the industrial work environment of Cape Town that lasted no longer than 60 minutes in a private room after their written informed consent was obtained. Probing was conducted, and written field notes were compiled while the interviews were digitally recorded. Transcripts were analysed using the method of Colaizzi with a consensus discussion between the researcher and the independent coder. Research ethics were adhered to, and trustworthiness was ensured throughout the study. The study findings highlighted that self-observation enabled nurses to understand their actions within the external environment, which encouraged confidence and distinctive personal characteristics. The ability to direct oneself in a goal-orientated way was needed to enable nurses to achieve specific set outcomes and receive rewards for work well done, thus, supporting the reaching of set goals. To achieve set goals and outcomes, leaders need to think about what they want to achieve by reminding themselves that occupational health practices are there to assist them in keeping their clients healthy and not merely to cure already existing ailments. It was concluded that nurses need certain personal leadership traits to lead them towards achieving their goals. Occupational nurses must focus on moving into the future, with the support of their employers or role players, and lead the way into improved Occupational Health Nursing. Occupational nurses can effectively advance themselves professionally through self-leadership. It is recommended that nurses working in the industrial sector become more aware of driving their own personal development to achieve self-leadership. This goal can be accomplished through structured internship training and mentorship to lead them within their private industrial environments. It is essential to monitor the development of nurses’ self-leadership role in undertaking the newly established qualification, the Postgraduate Diploma in Community Health Nursing. It was concluded from this study’s findings that OH nurses in industrial settings need to possess strong self-leadership traits to create a vibrant culture of self-ownership and confidence to serve their client’s needs better.