A path analysis of work engagement of generation z nurses working at regional hospitals, Thailand

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the level of work engagement and to analyze the direct and indirect effects of transformational leadership, workplace bullying, work-life balance, resilience, burnout, and job crafting on work engagement among Generation Z nurses. The study was guided by the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and a review of related literature. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to recruit 610 Generation Z nurses aged not more than 29 years who were working in regional hospitals across Thailand. Data were collected from February to June 2026 using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of eight sections, including demographic characteristics and scales measuring transformational leadership, workplace bullying, work-life balance, resilience, burnout, job crafting, and work engagement. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using SPSS version 29. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis were performed using Mplus 7.1. The findings revealed that Generation Z nurses demonstrated a moderate level of work engagement (M = 3.64, SD = 0.92). The path analysis model showed a good fit to the empirical data and explained 35.2% of the variance in work engagement (χ² = 7.478, df = 3, p = 0.0581, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.966, SRMR = 0.017, and RMSEA = 0.049). Transformational leadership had a significant positive direct effect on work engagement...