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Aghighi A, Mirabian G. The Association Between Boss Phubbing, Employee Engagement, and Psychological Conditions: A Case Study in Healthcare. Iran J Health Sci 2026; 14 (2) :193-204
URL: http://jhs.mazums.ac.ir/article-1-1127-fa.html

Background and Purpose: Boss phubbing may weaken employee trust and engagement in healthcare organizations. This study aimed to examine the relationship between boss phubbing and employee engagement, with trust in supervisors and psychological conditions as mediators.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in 2024 among managers and employees of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. Of the 348 distributed questionnaires, 335 were valid and analyzed. Data were collected using validated questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, and the Sobel test.
Results: Boss phubbing was a significant negative predictor of trust in supervisors (B=−0.366, standard error [SE]=0.049, t=−7.447, P<0.001) and explained 14.3% of the variance in trust in supervisors (R2=0.143). Trust in supervisors positively predicted psychological meaningfulness (B=0.091, SE=0.021, t=4.336, P<0.001), psychological availability (B=0.075, SE=0.025, t=3.014, P=0.003), and psychological safety (B=0.088, SE=0.022, t=4.082, P<0.001). Psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability were positively related to employee engagement (B=0.559, SE=0.08, P<0.001; B=0.412, SE=0.07, P<0.001), whereas psychological safety was not significant (B=0.066, SE=0.021, P=0.225). Boss phubbing negatively predicted psychological meaningfulness (B=−0.055, P=0.008) and psychological safety (B=−0.067, P=0.002), but not psychological availability (B=0.021, P=0.704). Trust in supervisors partially mediated the relationships between boss phubbing and psychological meaningfulness and psychological safety, and fully mediated the relationship between boss phubbing and psychological availability. Psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability mediated the relationship between trust in supervisors and employee engagement.
Conclusion: Boss phubbing undermines employee engagement by reducing trust in supervisors and weakening key psychological conditions, particularly meaningfulness and availability. Reducing phubbing in managerial interactions may improve workplace communication and employee engagement in healthcare settings.