Liu Xingxing, He Fang, Tian Tian, Guo Fangli, Zhang Jun, Zhong Yuexia
Outpatient Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 8;12:1535065. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1535065. eCollection 2024.
Ethical leadership is crucial in nursing management, and self-compassion is increasingly recognized as a significant factor influencing nurses' job performance. Although the link between ethical leadership and nurse job performance has been established, the specific mechanisms that underlie this relationship remain unclear. Additionally, there is a paucity of research examining the potential role of self-compassion in this context. This study aims to investigate the relationship between self-compassion, ethical leadership, and nurses' job performance while also validating the mediating role of self-compassion.
This study employed a convenience sampling method to conduct a cross-sectional online survey involving 968 nurses from four tertiary-level hospitals in Xi'an, China, conducted between April and May 2024. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that included the Ethical Leadership Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and Job Performance Scale. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis H rank sum test, Spearman correlation analysis, and the PROCESS tool within SPSS.
The analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between ethical leadership and self-compassion ( = 0.631, < 0.01), as well as between ethical leadership and job performance ( = 0.688, < 0.01). Additionally, a positive correlation was found between self-compassion and job performance ( = 0.564, < 0.01). Mediation analysis indicated that self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and job performance. The overall impact of ethical leadership on job performance ( = 0.680) comprised a direct effect ( = 0.499) and an indirect effect mediated by self-compassion ( = 0.181). The mediating effect accounted for 26.62% of the total effect.
The results of this study indicate that ethical leadership not only directly predicts nurses' job performance but also indirectly influences it by enhancing their levels of self-compassion. Consequently, nursing managers should prioritize the cultivation and reinforcement of ethical leadership styles while fostering a supportive environment that promotes effective self-compassion practices. Implementing these strategies is essential for improving nurses' job performance and well-being, ultimately contributing to a higher quality of care and greater stability within the nursing team.
道德领导在护理管理中至关重要，自我同情越来越被视为影响护士工作绩效的一个重要因素。尽管道德领导与护士工作绩效之间的联系已经确立，但这种关系背后的具体机制仍不清楚。此外，在这种背景下，研究自我同情潜在作用的研究很少。本研究旨在探讨自我同情、道德领导与护士工作绩效之间的关系，同时验证自我同情的中介作用。
本研究采用便利抽样方法，于2024年4月至5月对中国西安4所三级医院的968名护士进行了横断面在线调查。参与者完成了自我报告问卷，包括道德领导量表、自我同情量表和工作绩效量表。使用描述性统计、曼-惠特尼U检验、克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯H秩和检验、斯皮尔曼相关分析以及SPSS中的PROCESS工具进行数据分析。
分析显示，道德领导与自我同情之间存在显著正相关（r = 0.631，p < 0.01），道德领导与工作绩效之间也存在显著正相关（r = 0.688，p < 0.01）。此外，自我同情与工作绩效之间也存在正相关（r = 0.564，p < 0.01）。中介分析表明，自我同情部分中介了道德领导与工作绩效之间的关系。道德领导对工作绩效的总体影响（r = 0.680）包括直接效应（r = 0.499）和由自我同情介导的间接效应（r = 0.181）。中介效应占总效应的26.62%。
本研究结果表明，道德领导不仅直接预测护士的工作绩效，还通过提高他们的自我同情水平间接影响工作绩效。因此，护理管理者应优先培养和强化道德领导风格，同时营造一个支持性环境，促进有效的自我同情实践。实施这些策略对于提高护士的工作绩效和幸福感至关重要，最终有助于提高护理质量和护理团队的稳定性。
