Background: Hospitals, as dynamic and complex organizations, are continuously exposed to environmental changes, technological developments, and managerial requirements. In such conditions, nurses’ perceptions of work environment uncertainty may be associated with their readiness to cope with organizational changes.
Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between work environment uncertainty and organizational readiness for change, as well as its three dimensions, among nurses in teaching hospitals.
Methods: This quantitative, descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 2024. The study population consisted of 208 nurses working in two teaching hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences. A total of 132 nurses were selected using proportionate stratified sampling followed by simple random sampling. Data were collected using the 18-item Dunham Readiness for Change Questionnaire and the 18-item Allred Perceived Environmental Uncertainty Questionnaire. The content validity of the instruments was assessed by five faculty members, and their internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha, yielding coefficients of 0.844 and 0.927, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Shapiro–Wilk, Spearman’s correlation, Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney U tests were used.
Results: The mean score for readiness for change was 3.69±0.53, while the mean score for work environment uncertainty was 3.71±0.62. Readiness for change differed significantly by educational level (H=6.592, p=0.037) and employment type (H=14.816, p=0.011). A weak, positive relationship was observed between work environment uncertainty and overall readiness for change (r=0.260, p=0.003). This relationship was also significant for the cognitive dimension (r=0.296, p=0.001), but not for the affective or behavioral dimensions.
Conclusion: Greater perceptions of work environment uncertainty were associated with higher readiness for change among nurses, although the strength of this relationship was weak and was primarily observed in the cognitive dimension. Given the cross-sectional nature of the study, no causal relationship can be inferred from these findings. Attention to nurses’ perceptions of uncertain work conditions may be considered in planning and managing organizational change processes.