How Role Overload Impacts Nurses’ Work Engagement in Healthcare Emergencies: A Moderated Mediation Model

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the mediating role of occupational self-efficacy and the moderating role of perceived social support in the relationship between nurses’ role overload and work engagement. Background: With the increasing frequency of disasters and multiple emergencies, role overload has emerged as a critical issue in nursing practice. Understanding how to manage nurses' role overload to promote their work engagement is essential for improving healthcare outcomes. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, conducted from January 2023 to February 2023, 209 nurses were recruited by convenience sampling from six hospitals in China. Data analysis was performed with SPSS 22.0 and Mplus 8.3. Results: Nurses’ role overload negatively affected work engagement. Occupational self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between nurses’ role overload and work engagement. Perceived social support negatively moderated the relationship between nurses’ role overload and occupational self-efficacy and the indirect effect between nurses’ role overload and work engagement via occupational self-efficacy. Conclusion: Nurses’ role overload can reduce work engagement by diminishing occupational self-efficacy, and perceived social support mitigates this negative indirect effect. Implications for nursing and health policy: In situations characterized by frequent disasters and multiple emergencies, interventions to improve work engagement should focus on diminishing role overload among nurses and improving their occupational self-efficacy. Additionally, policymakers and nursing managers should prioritize the mental health and emotional needs of nurses to increase their perceived social support.