Quantifying leadership’s impact: a predictive model of nurse job satisfaction from emotional intelligence and transformational leadership

Nurse job satisfaction remains a critical workforce issue in public healthcare systems, particularly in resource-constrained settings. This study examined the extent to which nurse leaders’ emotional intelligence and transformational leadership predict clinical nurses’ job satisfaction in public hospitals in Accra, Ghana, and whether transformational leadership moderates the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Grounded in an integrated framework based on Transformational Leadership Theory, Bar-On’s Emotional Intelligence Model, and Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, the study employed a cross-sectional quantitative design. Data were collected from 352 clinical nurses in three public hospitals using validated questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression were used for data analysis. Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership significantly predicted nurse job satisfaction after controlling for demographic variables, with the final model explaining 56.9% of the variance. Transformational leadership emerged as the stronger direct predictor. The interaction between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership was also significant, showing that transformational leadership strengthened the positive effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction. Male nurses, degree holders, and nurses with more than ten years of experience reported significantly higher levels of job satisfaction and perceived leadership-related variables. The findings show that effective nursing leadership in Ghana depends on both emotional intelligence and transformational leadership behaviours. The study provides evidence for leadership development, promotion, and retention strategies aimed at improving nurse satisfaction and strengthening workforce management in Ghana and similar contexts.