The Correlation of Informal Intra-Organizational Communication with Organizational Trust and Organizational Communication Satisfaction among Iranian Psychiatric Nurses

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to determine the correlation of informal intra-organizational communication with organizational trust and organizational communication satisfaction among Iranian psychiatric nurses.

Design: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from October to November 2020 to analyze and visualize informal intra-organizational communication among nurses.

Method: The current research was conducted on 154 nurses, head nurses, supervisors, and the matron working at Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran, who were selected using a census method. In order to comply with ethical considerations in sampling for social network analysis (SNA) studies, a list was designed including all 168 nurses working at the hospital.

Results: The majority of nurses reported having informal communication with their colleagues, and a significant proportion (47%) believed that information obtained from this informal communication was sometimes valuable for them. The results revealed that nurses’ informal communication network was significantly correlated with organizational trust (p≤0.02, X2=7.81) and communication satisfaction (p≤0.01, X2=21.82).

Conclusion: Informal communication in the nursing workplace should not be overlooked. Given the physical, psychological, and organizational impacts of informal workplace communication on nurses working at hospitals and healthcare centers, nursing managers and policymakers should develop systematic and precise plans to recognize, prevent, and manage this phenomenon.