Promoting the work engagement of the health worker: The role of secure workplace attachment, perceived spatial-physical comfort, and relationship with patients

Though place attachment has been widely studied for a variety of settings, little attention has been devoted to place attachment in the workplace, particularly in healthcare environments. The objective of this research is to test the relationship between Secure workplace attachment and work engagement through the mediating effect of the work environment, in both spatial-physical and social-relational terms. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 150 health personnel of different hospitals. Results show that a more Secure workplace attachment is associated with a higher level of work engagement, and such relationship is mediated positively by the perception of environmental comfort and negatively by the feeling of having difficult relationships with patients. These findings suggest the importance of addressing health workers’ place attachment in the hospital setting, with specific reference to the physical and social environment in which the healthcare is delivered, in order to increase their positive involvement toward their job activity.