The chain-mediating role of workplace social capital and resilience in the relationship between change fatigue and proactive work behavior among nurses

Abstract

To examine the associations among change fatigue, workplace social capital, resilience, and proactive work behavior in clinical nurses, and to test whether workplace social capital and resilience serially mediate the relationship between change fatigue and proactive work behavior. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to April 2026. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 1,018 clinical nurses. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Change Fatigue Scale, the Resilience Scale for Nurses, and the Proactive Work Behavior Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and a saturated path model with 5,000 bootstrap samples (AMOS 25.0) were used. Nurses’ mean scores were 25.01 ± 7.97 for change fatigue, 77.50 ± 16.26 for workplace social capital, 63.80 ± 8.27 for resilience, and 31.78 ± 9.15 for proactive work behavior. Change fatigue was negatively correlated with workplace social capital, resilience, and proactive work behavior ( r = −0.447 to −0.738, all p  < 0.001). Workplace social capital and resilience were each associated with partial mediation (specific indirect effects −0.173, 24.9%; −0.187, 26.9%), and the serial indirect effect was also significant (−0.075, 10.8%). The direct effect accounted for 37.3% of the total effect. The four-factor measurement model fitted better than a one-factor model, but absolute fit was poor (RMSEA = 0.111) and discriminant validity involving resilience was not supported. Change fatigue is associated with lower proactive work behavior, and workplace social capital and resilience may partly explain this association. Monitoring change fatigue and fostering workplace social capital and resilience may support proactive work behavior; these propositions warrant longitudinal and intervention research.