Authentic leadership, work-family enrichment and nurses’ life satisfaction

Purpose This study aims to test the relationship between authentic leadership and the life satisfaction of nurses and shows the mediating effect of work–family enrichment (WFE) on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by simple random sampling from the different health care in Bangladesh. The sample contained 563 nurses in various positions. Hierarchical Linear Regression, PROCESS Macro and Sobel test were used together to test the direct and indirect impact of authentic leadership on nurses’ life satisfaction. Findings Findings disclosed that authentic leadership was positively related to the nurses’ life satisfaction and WFE. Moreover, WFE was identified as a partial mediator that mediated the connection between authentic leadership and life satisfaction. Research limitations/implications Despite of having various contributions to this study, it possesses limitations that provide areas for future research. This study only considered WFE as a primary mediator. Other alternative mechanisms, for instance, job resources and psychological capital were avoided which could also explain the authentic leadership–life satisfaction relationship. Practical implications Results of this study would assist health-care managers in recognizing the requirements of developing the life satisfaction of the nurses. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes the significance of authentic leadership as a proper and powerful leadership style, in affecting life satisfaction in health-care organizations. Social implications This study indicates that WFE mediates the positive correlation between authentic leadership and nurses’ life satisfaction via the Work-Home Resources (W-HR). Therefore, this study reinforces and substantiates the significant impact of the W-HR model on the entire life domain. Originality/value Although plenty of literature offers on authentic leadership and its influence on the followers’ work-related outcomes, studies connecting authentic leadership with their life domain are rare. No prior research explored the relationship between authentic leadership and nurses’ life satisfaction. So, the research is treated as unique and original and of extensive value emphasizing the association among the work and nonwork propositions.