Work

The relationship between emotional exhaustion and job embeddedness in nurses: the mediating role of decent work perception and the moderating role of job crafting

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Objectives: Nurse turnover is a global challenge facing healthcare systems, severely impacting the stability of nursing teams and the quality of care. Job embeddedness is a key predictor of nurse retention. This study aims to explore the relationship between nurses' emotional exhaustion and job embeddedness and to analyze the mediating and moderating roles of decent work perception and job crafting in this relationship. Methods: This was a multicenter cross-sectional study. From February to March 2025, an online questionnaire was administered to 653 nurses from three general hospitals in Shanxi Province, China, using convenience sampling. The questionnaire consisted of the Demographic Information Questionnaire, Emotional Exhaustion Scale, Decent Work Perception Scale, Job Crafting Scale, and Job Embeddedness Scale. The mediating and moderating effects were tested via the PROCESS Macro 4.1 (Model 4 and Model 5) of SPSS 27.0. Results: < 0.001). Decent work perception played a partial mediating role between emotional exhaustion and job embeddedness, accounting for 44.1% of the total effect. In addition, job crafting positively moderated the effect of emotional exhaustion on job embeddedness. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, nursing managers should develop and adopt comprehensive and effective intervention strategies to reduce nurses' emotional exhaustion, stimulate their level of decent work perception and job crafting to improve their job embeddedness, and ultimately stabilize the nursing workforce.

Source: Frontiers in Psychology

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1678739

Authors: Dinuo Xin, Dina Xin, Meirong Bian, Wanling Li, Jinyan Niu

Institutions: Shanxi Medical University, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Healthcare Education and Workforce Issues

Subfield: Leadership and Management

Field: Nursing

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801