The importance of a high-performance work environment in hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the benefits of a high-performance work environment (HPWE) for employees, patients, and hospitals. STUDY SETTING: Forty-five adult, medical-surgical units in nine hospitals in upstate New York. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. DATA COLLECTION: Surveys were collected from 1,527 unit-based hospital providers (68.5 percent response rate). Hospitals provided unit turnover and patient data (16,459 discharge records and 2,920 patient surveys). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: HPWE, as perceived by multiple occupational groups on a unit, is significantly associated with desirable work processes, retention indicators, and care quality. CONCLUSION: Our findings underscore the potential benefits for providers, patients, and health care organizations of designing work environments that value and support a broad range of employees as having essential contributions to make to the care process and their organizations.