Background Emergency nurses who thrive at work experience positive emotions that help reduce burnout and thus enhance career calling. However, few studies have focused on the relationships among thriving at work, career calling, and moral distress among emergency nurses. Objectives To investigate the relationships among thriving at work, career calling, and moral distress and to explore the mediating role of career calling in the relationship between thriving at work and moral distress among emergency nurses. Design A quantitative, cross-sectional study. Methods (...) A cross-sectional study was conducted by reference to 390 emergency nurses in China using an online survey that include the Thriving at Work Scale, the Career Calling Scale, and the Moral Distress Scale-Revised. The data were analyzed using SmartPLS software. Ethical consideration The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hunan Normal University (No. 2023-388). Findings Among emergency nurses, thriving at work is positively associated with career calling, while career calling is negatively associated with moral distress. Career calling negatively and completely mediates the relationship between thriving at work and moral distress (β = −0.087, p < 0.01). Discussion Theoretically, the findings enhance our understanding of the relationships among thriving at work, career calling, and moral distress among emergency nurses. Conclusion By emphasizing the benefits of thriving at work, nursing managers can improve nurses’ level of thriving at work by providing a favorable environment, a flexible scheduling system, and appropriate authorization as well as by ensuring organizational fairness and providing training opportunities in a hierarchical manner. (shrink)

Background Morality is a fundamental component of nurses’ daily work. Nurses’ cognitive tendencies toward moral disengagement in high-stress work environments can easily lead them to engage in counterproductive work behaviors that are not conducive to the organization. However, there is limited research on how to mitigate the impact of moral disengagement on counterproductive work behavior. Objective The objective was to explore the impact of moral disengagement on counterproductive work behavior, as well as the reverse regulatory mechanism of moral identity on (...) the relationship between moral disengagement and counterproductive work behavior. Research design This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study. Participants and research context From September to October 2023, nurses from emergency departments of major hospitals in Hunan Province were recruited, and 500 questionnaires were distributed and collected using the WeChat app Credamo Seeing Numbers. Ethical consideration All study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Hunan Normal University (No. 2023-388). Findings Moral disengagement had a positive effect on counterproductive work behavior directed at the organization (CWB-O) as well as counterproductive work behavior directed at individuals (CWB-I). Moral identity was not significant in moderating the relationship between moral disengagement and CWB-O. Moral identity had an inverse moderating effect on the mechanism of action between moral disengagement and CWB-I. Conclusion Counterproductive work behavior guided by moral disengagement is detrimental to organizations, and moral identity can inhibit the effect of moral disengagement on CWB-I. Nursing administrators should focus on improving nurses’ moral identity and improving the healthcare workplace environment so that moral identity can better exert its inhibitory effect on counterproductive work behavior among nurses. (shrink)

Background Nurses often face ethical issues in their daily work that can have an impact on their level of job embeddedness. And positive job embeddedness is essential to reduce burnout among nurses and improve professional retention in the medical industry. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between moral distress, moral resilience, and job embeddedness. Objectives To investigate the relationship between moral distress, moral resilience, and job embeddedness, and explore the mediating role of moral resilience between moral distress and (...) job embeddedness among nurses. Design A quantitative, cross-sectional study. Methods Nurses from a number of tertiary general hospitals in central China were surveyed and assessed using the Moral Distress Scale, the Nurse Moral Resilience Scale, and the nurse job embeddedness Scale from February to March 2023. The study was conducted in line with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical consideration All study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Hunan Normal University (No. 2023-313). Findings Moral distress was positively correlated with moral resilience ( β = 0.525, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated job embeddedness ( β = −0.470, p < 0.01). Moral resilience partially mediated the relationship between moral distress with job embeddedness ( β = −0.087, p < 0.01). Discussion The findings reveal a relationship between moral distress, job embeddedness, and moral resilience among nurses. Conclusion Moral distress and moral resilience are important correlates of job embeddedness in nurses. Interventions to reduce moral distress and increase moral resilience may have potential benefits for improving nurses’ job embeddedness. It is recommended that clinical nursing administrators create a favorable ethical atmosphere, educate nurses about ethics, and increase nurses' moral resilience. (shrink)