Nurses’ Perception of the Effect of Motivation, Psycho-Social Safety Climate, and Work Engagement: A Mediation Analysis

Abstract

Nurses often work under high stress and heavy workloads, making it critical to understand factors that influence their motivation, psychosocial safety climate (PSC), and work engagement (WE). Objectives: To assess nurses’ levels of motivation, PSC, and WE; examine relationships among these variables; and test whether PSC mediates the association between motivation and WE. Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted with 318 nurses from Assiut University Hospital, Egypt, using validated scales for motivation, PSC, and WE. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlations, multivariate regression, and mediation analysis (bootstrapped, 5000 resamples). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Nurses reported moderate motivation (M = 118.1, SD = 16.4), moderate WE (M = 22.7, SD = 5.8), and low PSC perception (M = 60.5, SD = 16.6). Motivation was positively correlated with PSC (r = 0.48, 95% CI [0.39, 0.56], p < 0.001). Motivation-WE correlation was small and non-significant (r = 0.10, 95% CI [−0.01, 0.21], p = 0.08). Mediation analysis showed PSC partially mediated the motivation-WE link (indirect effect = 0.07, 95% CI [0.02, 0.14]), though the effect size was small. Conclusions: Motivation and PSC reinforce each other, but neither strongly predicts WE in this setting. Targeted strategies to strengthen PSC and intrinsic motivation may indirectly enhance engagement and retention.