The Curvilinear Relationship Between Career Calling and Work Fatigue: A Moderated Mediating Model

A latent profile analysis of psychological resilience associated with work fatigue among Chinese nurses

Nurses' psychological resilience has been studied using a variable-centered rather than a person-centered approach, impeding a comprehensive understanding of the holistic expression of these different forms of psychological resilience. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of psychological resilience in a sample of Chinese nurses during COVID-19 using latent profile analysis (LPA) and the relationships between these unique profiles and nurses' work fatigue. A total of 471 Chinese nurses were recruited from three hospitals in Hebei Province between June and July 2020. The participant samples were investigated with the psychological resilience scale and the work fatigue inventory. LPA showed that a three-profile model of psychological resilience best fit this study. The resulting profiles were low psychological resilience, medium psychological resilience, and high psychological resilience. Notably, there were significant differences in nurses' work fatigue among different profiles of psychological resilience. The study provided a new view of nurses' psychological resilience, which may be used to effectively reduce nurses' work fatigue and evaluate nursing work status comprehensively.

First Responders During COVID-19: Career Calling, PTSD, and Work Self-Efficacy

INTRODUCTION

During the COVID-19 pandemic, first responders were identified as a high-risk group for developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, which are commonly associated with negative thoughts about oneself. This may pose risk to perceptions of work self-efficacy, an integral component of employee well-being and occupational functioning. In line with the Job Demands-Resources Model (Demerouti et al., 2001), the present study examined whether the degree to which first responders' perceived career calling (i.e., a "summons" to work) served as a protective factor in the relationship between PTSD symptoms associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and perceptions of self-efficacy in the workplace.

METHODS

Participants were 138 first responders from local county police and fire departments who completed online screening measures for probable PTSD and depression, as well as self-reports of work self-efficacy and career calling, between May and June 2020. Statistical analysis occurred between 2020 and 2021.

RESULTS

Moderation analysis, controlling for depression and relevant covariates, revealed an interaction between PTSD symptoms and career calling, ΔR2=0.04, p=0.017. At low levels of career calling, there was a significant and negative relationship between PTSD symptoms and work self-efficacy (b=‒0.14, p=0.023), but not among first responders with average or high calling (p's>0.58). Positive screening rates were 22% for probable PTSD and 19% for depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Perceiving a career calling may help protect first responders during COVID-19 from the deleterious effects of PTSD symptomatology on work self-efficacy. Prevention efforts targeting first responders with low calling strength may be warranted.

Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Work Absenteeism: Work Meaningfulness as a Double-Edged Sword

The adverse impacts of childhood maltreatment (CM) on an individual's health and economic welfare are widely recognized, yet its occupational and organizational effects remain less explored. Employee absenteeism, known as absenteeism, is often a sign of workplace maladjustment and may be linked to a history of CM. Some individuals in the helping professions, who exhibit a strong sense of purpose in their employment and pursue it in demanding environments, are CM survivors. This study investigates whether a heightened sense of meaningfulness in their work is associated with increased absenteeism among this subgroup. We recruited 320 helping professionals from a variety of social and mental health settings, one third of whom reported experiencing CM. As hypothesized, CM was positively correlated with work absenteeism. Furthermore, the relationship between work meaningfulness and absenteeism was moderated by their CM history: among those with CM experiences, greater work meaningfulness was associated with higher absenteeism rates. Our findings highlight the possibility that work meaningfulness may operate as a double-edged sword, and the importance of better understanding the challenges that high-functioning survivors of CM face within organizational contexts.

Surface acting, emotional exhaustion, career calling and turnover intention among student nurses: A cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aims to explore the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of career calling in the linkage of surface acting and turnover intention among student nurses in the final clinical practicum.

BACKGROUND

Turnover rates are especially high for graduating nursing students. Surface acting is considered an important factor that affects this rate among nurses. However, little is known about the relationships between surface acting and turnover intentions among graduating nursing students in the final clinical practicum.

DESIGN

The current research is a cross-sectional study, and the data were collected from 8 January 2022-22 January 2022.

METHODS

A survey was completed by 275 graduating nursing students. This survey included Chinese translations of scales measuring surface acting, emotional exhaustion, career calling and turnover intentions.

RESULTS

Both surface acting (r = 0.47, p < 0.001) and emotional exhaustion (r = 0.59, p < 0.001) correlated positively with turnover intentions. Both surface acting (r = -0.41, p < 0.001) and emotional exhaustion (r = -0.62, p < 0.001) correlated negatively with career calling and career calling (r = -0.72, p < 0.001) correlated negatively with turnover intentions. The association between surface acting and turnover intention was mediated by emotional exhaustion. In addition, career calling moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion.

CONCLUSIONS

Surface acting results in higher emotional exhaustion and higher turnover intention among graduating nursing students, which was more pronounced among nursing students with a lower sense of career calling.

Disclosing the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction in the Chinese public sector: A moderated mediation model

Introduction

Despite the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction is widely discussed, rare studies explore the theoretical mechanism of this relationship.

Methods

Through integrating public service motivation, role overload, job satisfaction, and marital status, this study explores psychological mechanisms and boundary conditions of the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction. Data was collected from 349 public employees in eastern China.

Results

Empirical results reveal that public service motivation is positively related to job satisfaction by decreasing role overload. Moreover, marital status moderates the relationship between role overload and job satisfaction, as well as moderates the indirect effect of public service motivation on job satisfaction through role overload.

Discussion

These findings advance our understanding of the psychological mechanism and conditional effect of PSM in relation to job satisfaction and provide valuable insights into how to improve public employees' well-being.

The impact of career calling on higher vocational nursing students' learning engagement: The mediating roles of career adaptability and career commitment

Learning engagement is an important predictor of academic success and a key indicator of educational quality. It has therefore attracted considerable research interest, with previous studies exploring how to enhance engagement via pedagogical approaches, strategies, and content, as well as through teacher-student interaction. However, the relationship between individual learners' internal mechanisms and learning engagement has yet to be investigated in depth. Accordingly, the present study explored the direct effects of career calling on higher vocational nursing students' learning engagement and the mediating roles of career adaptability and career commitment via a parallel mediation model. Data were collected from 388 nursing students at two higher vocational colleges in China and the hypotheses were tested using correlation and regression analyses. The results showed that career calling imparted a significant positive effect on the nursing students' engagement in learning, with career adaptability and career commitment mediating this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of promoting learning engagement among nursing students and the need to carefully design instructional activities for the healthcare profession.

Association Between Role Overload and Sleep Quality Among Chinese First-Line Nurses During the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Moderating Effect of Mindfulness

BACKGROUND

Nurses working during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have experienced a high incidence of insomnia because of exposure to life-threatening occupational risks. Good sleep is essential for nurses to maintain their ability to care for patients with infectious diseases.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of role overload on sleep quality and the moderating role of mindfulness.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study, which was conducted between March 20 and April 5, 2020. The survey was completed by 357 nurses who had relocated from Fujian Province to the epicenter of the outbreak in China to treat patients with COVID-19. Role overload, sleep quality, and mindfulness in these nurses were evaluated using the Role Overload Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, respectively.

RESULTS

Hierarchical regression and other statistical methods were used to analyze the data. Role overload was shown to be positively related to poor sleep quality, and mindfulness was found to be effective in alleviating sleep disorders associated with role overload.

CONCLUSIONS

The high risk of sleep disturbance among frontline nurses may be alleviated by reducing their perceived role overload. The identification of mindfulness as a moderating mechanism in the relationship between role overload and sleep quality provides new insights to improve sleep quality in nurses.

The Conceptual Model of Role Stress and Job Burnout in Judges: The Moderating Role of Career Calling

Judges are the central actors in the organization and functioning of the judicial system. Concerns about work efficiency, driven by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, led countries to adopt a set of reforms in line with private sector ideals applied to the public field to better manage their financial and human resources. In the last decades, the Portuguese judicial system has undergone a reform based on New Public Management principles by adopting the new Law on the Organization of the Judiciary System (LOSJ), significantly altering judges’ duties, who beyond their traditional role of applying the law, perform the additional role of court-of-law judge-manager. The objective of this study is to explore the influence of role conflict and role ambiguity in occupational burnout among judges and to analyze the influence of calling orientation as a moderating variable, so as to present a conceptual model of role-stress management among the judiciary. Theoretically, this work contributes to the literature on role-stress management through its introduction of calling moderation, as well as to the literature on the positive influence of calling on burnout. In terms of its practical implications, the work contributes to a reconsideration of the current organizational structure of judicial work.

Career Calling as the Mediator and Moderator of Job Demands and Job Resources for Job Satisfaction in Health Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Job satisfaction of health professionals is a key determinant of the quality of health services and even affects the development of the healthcare system. In this study, we sought to explore the mechanism by which job demands, job resources, and career calling affect the job satisfaction of health professionals. Our findings may provide insights for increasing their job satisfaction and improving the quality of health services. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 1,117 health workers in Hangzhou; t-test, Chi-squared analysis, hierarchical linear regression was used to analyze the state of job satisfaction of health personnel and the associated factors; path analysis with the Structural Equation Model was used to explore and verify the effects of job resources, demands, and career calling on job satisfaction, as well as their mechanism. Social support, performance feedback, working conditions, and career calling had significant positive effects on job satisfaction of health professionals, whereas work-family conflict and emotional requirements for work had significant negative effects. Path analysis indicated that job resources, demands, and career calling directly affected job satisfaction; job resources and demands showed indirect effects on job satisfaction with career calling as a mediator. Career calling had a positive moderating effect in the path of "job resources-job satisfaction," and a negative moderating effect in the path of "job demands-job satisfaction." In conclusion, hospital administrators should provide more job resources for health workers and formulate reasonable job demands while paying close attention to work-related pressure. Hospital administrators and health departments need to improve hospital policies and inculcate a sense of belonging and career calling among health professionals. Education and evaluation of career calling need to be accorded more attention so that healthcare workers can perceive a stronger sense of calling and achievement, and hence a higher degree of job satisfaction.

How does COVID-19 pandemic strength influence work fatigue? The mediating role of occupational calling

Drawing on event system theory, this study explored the mechanism by which COVID-19 pandemic strength (including criticality, disruption, and novelty) influences work fatigue through the mediating role of occupational calling. A two-wave field study was conducted with 857 Chinese police officers using COVID-19 pandemic strength, occupational calling, and work fatigue questionnaires. The results showed that COVID-19 pandemic criticality had a positive effect on work fatigue and occupational calling, and that occupational calling mediated the direct link between COVID-19 pandemic criticality and work fatigue. Additionally, the first and second stages of the mediating effect were jointly moderated by COVID-19 pandemic disruption and novelty. When COVID-19 pandemic disruption and novelty were high, the positive relationship between COVID-19 pandemic criticality and occupational calling, and the mediating role of occupational calling, were stronger. The negative relationship between occupational calling and work fatigue was strengthened when COVID-19 pandemic disruption was high and novelty was low.