Work engagement and associated factors of nurses: a structural equation model

To assess the associated factors of work engagement among nurses in tertiary hospitals.

In recent years, the demands for nursing professional skills and quality have gradually increased. Nurses are required to master continuously updated medical knowledge while facing high-intensity work, which may lead to occupational burnout and turnover. Work engagement reflects nursing quality and work enthusiasm and is an important predictor of nurse turnover. Therefore, understanding its current status and associated factors is crucial.

Using convenience sampling, licensed nurses were selected from Xi'an Honghui Hospital in Shaanxi Province, China. A general information questionnaire and structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, thriving at work, work engagement, self-efficacy, and leisure crafting. A model was constructed to test the research hypotheses. Descriptive analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0, while AMOS 24.0 was utilized for the verification and analysis of structural equation modeling.

A total of 1,055 questionnaires were distributed, with 1,007 valid responses collected, yielding an effective response rate of 95.45%. The final model explained 80.5% of the total variance in nurses' work engagement. Nurses' self-efficacy (B = 0.574, P < 0.001), leisure crafting (B = 0.127, P < 0.001), and thriving at work (B = 1.157, P < 0.001) significantly influenced work engagement. The total effects of self-efficacy and leisure crafting on work engagement were (0.551 and 0.330), respectively; their direct effects were (0.320 and 0.093), and their indirect effects were (0.231 and 0.237).

Chinese nurses exhibit a moderately high level of work engagement, influenced by multiple factors, with thriving at work having the greatest impact.

Nursing managers should prioritize enhancing nurses' self-efficacy, encourage reasonable leisure crafting to balance work and life and alleviate work stress, and pay attention to nurses' thriving at work by providing good career development opportunities. These measures can effectively improve nurses' work engagement levels.