Job insecurity and work passion among Central Sterile Supply Department nurses in the post-COVID-19 context

Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) nurses played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic, managing the collection, cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, and distribution of medical instruments. Their workload and occupational risk increased sharply. However, research on the relationship between CSSD nurses' job insecurity and work passion, as well as the underlying mechanisms, remains scarce, especially from an individual-centered perspective that explores psychological heterogeneity within this nurse population. To address these gaps, we recruited 496 CSSD nurses from 26 secondary and tertiary hospitals across Sichuan, China, between September and October 2025. The survey included scales measuring job insecurity, work passion, organizational identification, and demographic variables. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating role of organizational identification, while latent profile analysis identified subgroups based on job insecurity and organizational identification, and compared differences in work passion across these profiles. Results revealed a significant negative correlation between job insecurity and work passion among CSSD nurses in the post-COVID-19 context, with organizational identification partially mediating this relationship. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct subgroups: "High Job Insecurity-Low Organizational Identification," "Moderate Job Insecurity-Moderate Organizational Identification," and "Low Job Insecurity-High Organizational Identification," with the latter exhibiting the highest levels of work passion. This study elucidates the dual-perspective mechanism linking job insecurity and work passion among CSSD nurses in the post-COVID-19 context. The findings provide empirical support for hospital administrators to develop stratified, targeted psychological support strategies, emphasizing the enhancement of organizational identification to buffer the negative impact of job insecurity on nurses' work passion.