Hospital Nurses’ Professional Quality of Life Model: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the Expanded Job Demands-Resources Model

Aim: This study aimed to develop a model that explained the factors influencing the professional quality of life (ProQoL) in hospital nurses based on the expanded job demands-resources model (JD-R model).

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 296 nurses with > 1 year of experience from three general hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected via self-reported questionnaires between February 13 and 24, 2023. Job stress (JS), supportive organizational environment (SOE), psychological ownership (PO), and career commitment (CC) were exogenous variables. Compassion fatigue (CF) and satisfaction (CS), components of ProQoL, were the endogenous variables. A hypothetical model was assessed through maximum likelihood and bootstrapping via SPSS/AMOS.

Results: CF was directly influenced by JS (β = 0.44, p < 0.001) and CC (β = −0.28, p < 0.001). CS was influenced by JS (β = −0.16, p = 0.003), PO (β = 0.30, p = 0.012), and CC (β = 0.33, p < 0.001). The model’s explanatory power for CF and CS was 37.0% and 39.0%, respectively. SOE (β = −0.15 p = 0.009) indirectly affected CF through PO and CC. Additionally, PO indirectly affected (β = −0.09, p = 0.008) CF through CC. SOE (β = 0.34 p = 0.014) indirectly affected CS through PO and CC. PO also had an indirect effect (β = 0.11, p = 0.004) on CS through CC. The final model exhibited a good fit.

Conclusions: The ProQoL model, based on the expanded JD-R model, is suitable for explaining and predicting the ProQoL among hospital nurses. CC is crucial in mediating the relationships between a SOE, PO, and CF or CS. These findings have implications for developing strategies to enhance nurses’ ProQoL.

Implication for Nursing Management: This implies the need to reduce JS through workplace improvements, appropriate compensation, and feedback while fostering PO and CC through supportive programs and participatory decision making.