The Impact of Transformational and Transactional Leadership Styles on Job Satisfaction among Healthcare Workers in Oman: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Healthcare leadership is a central factor influencing workforce satisfaction, retention and service quality, particularly in health systems undergoing reform. Effective leadership, workforce stability and culturally responsive management is a value that has been introduced in Oman through healthcare transformation as part of Oman Vision 2040. A systematic review was done to establish the impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on job satisfaction among Omani healthcare workers. The research used was systematic review that was guided by the PICO framework. The population of interest was Omani healthcare workers, the exposure was transformational and transactional leadership, the comparison was other leadership/management styles, and the outcome was job satisfaction. An evidence base provided went through a PRISMA-informed selection process. Thirty-eight records were identified and screened, 28 full-text reports were assessed for eligibility, and 15 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. The evidence included was categorized into direct Oman healthcare evidence, GCC healthcare evidence, international healthcare evidence and indirect organisational evidence. Quality of the studies was evaluated based on CASP-based principles of appraisal, such as the study design, relevance, sampling, measurement, bias and transferability. Meta-analysis was not done because the studies vary greatly in terms of design, population, outcome measures and statistical reporting. The findings indicated that transformational leadership was more effective in predicting positive job satisfaction particularly through motivation, communication, recognition, professional development, trust and organisational commitment. The correlation between transactional leadership and job satisfaction was conditional; it can help to increase satisfaction when applied to increase clarity of roles, accountability and fair feedback, but can decrease satisfaction when applied in a controlling or punitive manner. The review has also determined that there are wider organisational influences like workload, supervision, communication, pay, promotion and organisational culture, which influence job satisfaction. The review concludes that the healthcare industry in Oman needs to concentrate on culturally oriented leadership development that entails transformational support through appropriate transactional structure. The longitudinal and intervention studies unique to Oman must be carried out in the future to strengthen the causal evidence to help in meta-analysis in the future.