How Prosocial Motivation Is Related to Nurses' Taking Charge at Work: A Multiwave, Multisource Survey and Two...

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Organizational Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Prosocial motivation is crucial for nurses aiding patients.
• Contemporary healthcare demands proactive behaviors, such as taking charge.
• The link between prosocial motivation and taking charge in nurses is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between prosocial motivation and nurses' taking charge.
• To explore the mediating role of general job reflective learning.
• To examine how work overload moderates this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Multiwave, multisource survey in Study 1 (275 nurses, China).
• Cross-sectional, cross-national designs in Studies 2 and 3 (636 and 441 nurses).
• Statistical analyses included mediation and moderated mediation.

Main Results:

• Prosocial motivation positively predicted taking charge, mediated by reflective learning.
• Work overload weakened the association between prosocial motivation and reflective learning.
• The indirect effect of prosocial motivation on taking charge was reduced under high work overload.

Conclusions:

• Nurse proactivity is a deliberate, self-regulated process, not just goodwill.
• High workload can hinder the translation of prosocial motivation into taking charge.
• Healthcare organizations must support reflective learning and manage workloads to foster nurse proactivity.