Employee Engagement - A Mediator for Managing Occupational Stress among Women Nurses - A Study with Special Reference to Selected Hospitals in Kanchipuram District

Health care is the primitive and essential service entity in the life of common man. It is the sector in which the work pattern is rigid and attitude of providing the care is flexible. The nature of job demands commitment and consideration. The empathy is the prime element that should be reckoned during the time of serve the patients. Among the various job roles in health care, especially in hospital industry, nursing is the profession which surmounts pressure and profound psychological involvement. The nature of job performed by nurses is timeless in nature and leads to occupational stress. The level of occupational stress is comparatively high among women nurses than male due to the physical, family and psychological background of women. In this aspect, the various panaceas attempted for managing occupational stress among women nurses through physical, psychological, social, family, personal, environmental and organizational levels. The present day working environment requires continuous presence at work places; it also adds involvement and rigid work structure. In this aspect, in order to manage occupational stress among women nurses and also make them to work with commitment and involvement, employee engagement in various formal and informal avenues have been taken as imperative source by psychologist and social thinkers. Employee engagement helps to engage the employee on their preferred work avenues and which also help them to fit themselves in their physical, mental and work related circumstances. By keeping this view as the central focus, the present study has been attempted of understanding the role of employee engagement on managing occupational stress among the women nurses in selected hospitals in Kanchipuram District.