Influencing factors and mediating mechanisms of job crafting in clinical nursing practice.

Aim: To investigate the factors influencing job crafting levels among clinical nurses and elucidate the internal mechanisms linking personality traits to job crafting. Background: Job crafting plays a pivotal role in nursing management, with its optimization having the potential to enhance the quality of clinical care, the efficacy of healthcare organizations, and the multifaceted professional development of nurses. Design: A cross-sectional design. Methods: This study utilized a sample of 1,273 clinical nurses from tertiary hospitals in Inner Mongolia, China, selected through multistage sampling. To analyze the influencing factors and pathways, multiple linear regression and the Hayes PROCESS macro program (Models 4) were employed. Results: The study reveals that clinical nurses engage in job crafting to a moderate to high degree, with significant influences from career calling, extraversion, conscientiousness, and nurse regulatory focus. Furthermore, the mediating role of regulatory focus in the relationship between extraversion/conscientiousness and job crafting highlights the distinct mechanisms through which these personality traits shape occupational behaviors. Conclusion: The study identifies multiple factors affecting nurses' job crafting. It is imperative for nursing managers to comprehensively consider these factors and develop a targeted monitoring system to effectively enhance nurses' capacity for job crafting. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings of this study offer theoretical support for the optimization of nurses' job crafting strategies and may also draw increased attention to the mental health and sustainable career development of the nursing workforce. Patient or public contribution: No patient or public contribution.