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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Occupational Health and Safety
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1506454

The double-edged sword effect of conscientiousness on the work engagement of medical staff in Chinese public hospitals

Provisionally accepted
Hui Sun Hui Sun 1Xuelu Hua Xuelu Hua 1Shibing Wu Shibing Wu 2*Ling Sun Ling Sun 3
  • 1 Jiangsu Ocean Universiity, Lianyungang, China
  • 2 Lianyungang Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Lianyungang, China
  • 3 Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In China, medical staff in public hospitals are the primary providers of healthcare services. Their work engagement directly affects patients' perceptions of the level and quality of their medical services. Conscientiousness has a significant impact on the work engagement of medical staff, but the mechanism between the two is not yet clear.Objective: This study examined the double-edged sword effect of conscientiousness on medical staff work engagement, with a particular focus on exploring the mediating effects of thriving at work (TAW) and workload, as well as the moderating effect of perceived insider status (PIS).The study sample was drawn from four public hospitals in the Jiangsu Province, Shanghai City, and Zhejiang Province. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS, and mediation and moderations effects tested were conducted through the Bootstrap method.The results demonstrate the following: (1) conscientiousness has a positive effect on the work engagement of medical staff; (2) conscientiousness has a positive effect on work engagement through thriving at work (TAW) , and a negative effect on work engagement through workloads; (3) perceived insider status (PIS) moderates the relationship between conscientiousness and TAW, and the relationship between conscientiousness and workloads; and (4) PIS moderates the indirect effect of conscientiousness on work engagement through TAW, whereas the mediated relationship is strengthened when medical staff members exhibit a higher PIS. Simultaneously, PIS moderates the indirect effect of conscientiousness on work engagement through workload, and the mediating relationship is weakened for medical staff members who have a higher PIS.This study provides a balanced and dialectical understanding of the impact of conscientiousness, providing significant reference for enhancing the work engagement of medical staff in public hospitals.

    Keywords: conscientiousness, work engagement, Thriving at work, Workload, perceived insider status, Medical Staff

    Received: 05 Oct 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Hua, Wu and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shibing Wu, Lianyungang Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Lianyungang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.