Aim: The study investigated the association of narcissistic leadership, workload and emotional demands with nurses' job satisfaction and the mediational role of meaningful work.
Background: Considering the strong positive relationship that meaningful work has with job satisfaction, investigating its antecedents is crucial.
Method: A group of 602 nurses participated in the study completing a self-report questionnaire. Structural equation model analysis was applied.
Results: Narcissistic leadership showed a negative association while emotional demands showed a positive one with meaningful work. The three determinants had a negative association with job satisfaction, while meaningful work showed a positive one. The indirect relationship with job satisfaction mediated by meaningful work was negative for narcissistic leadership and positive for emotional demands.
Conclusion: The study adds to the literature mainly by the investigation of the mediational role of meaningful work in a sample of nurses.
Implications for nursing management: Measures should promote supportive, instead of narcissistic, leadership behaviours. Moreover, nurses should be assisted in identifying emotional demands as a meaningful aspect of their work.
Keywords: emotional labour; job satisfaction; meaningful work; narcissistic leadership; nursing.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.