Targeted goal setting: helping nurses manage a turbulent work environment

Nurses in a mid-sized Midwestern US hospital were surveyed to investigate the interrelationships among workplace locus of control [WLOC], preference for proximal and distal goals, and goal setting behaviour. Correlational results found preliminary support for the idea that knowledge regarding an individual's WLOC orientation may help supervisors optimize goal setting with their nursing staff. Nurses with an internal WLOC engaged in more long-term, short-term, and overall goal setting behaviour compared to their external WLOC counterparts. Nurses with an internal WLOC also reported a greater preference for working with distal goals and perceived greater control over setting their goals compared to nurses with an external WLOC orientation. Contrary to expectations, supervisors were not more likely to possess an internal WLOC orientation or set more goals compared to non-supervisory personnel. Nursing supervisors did, however, perceive themselves as having significantly greater control over goal setting than non-supervisors. Based upon these findings, recommendations are proposed to help nursing supervisors work with their staff to optimize performance.