The Role of Servant Leadership in Work Engagement Among Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare organizations worldwide face challenges in retaining talented employees, with the phenomenon of quiet quitting increasingly recognized as a contemporary issue. Rather than leaving their jobs, employees remain at work but exert minimal effort and exhibit reduced engagement, which can ultimately undermine the performance of healthcare organizations. The aim of this research was to examine the impact of servant leadership on work engagement within healthcare organizations, to determine whether this leadership style can help mitigate the effects of quiet quitting.

The study employed a quantitative approach, utilizing validated instruments to measure servant leadership and work engagement. A cross-sectional study design was utilized, employing a convenience sampling method. A total of 362 valid surveys were collected from healthcare professionals in Serbia participating in the study from January to March 2025. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to examine the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement among healthcare professionals.

The results indicate that servant leadership has a positive and statistically significant impact on all dimensions of engagement: vigor, dedication, and absorption.

Based on these findings, it is concluded that servant leadership can serve as an effective strategy for enhancing work engagement and reducing negative employee behaviors, such as quiet quitting, which may, in turn, improve organizational efficiency in the healthcare industry.