Nurses’ Occupational Stress and Presenteeism: The Mediating Role of Public Service Motivation and the Moderating Role of Health

Presenteeism not only poses an economic cost to organizations but also generates reduced work efficiency and quality. The purpose of this study was to examine the connections between occupational stress, public service motivation (PSM), health, and presenteeism. A total of 981 nurses from 109 public hospitals in Jilin Province in China were enrolled in our study. Model 5 in the PROCESS micro was employed in order to verify the mediating effect of PSM and the moderating effect of nurses’ health on the relationship between occupational stress and presenteeism, and simple slope analysis was used to further determine the moderating effect. Both challenge stress and hindrance stress had a positive impact on presenteeism among nurses. PSM is a mediating variable between occupational stress and presenteeism. Health moderates the path between challenge stress and presenteeism, with the association being significant for nurses with low levels of health. Future policy making should focus on preventing presenteeism by reducing excessive stress, enhancing PSM, and improving nurse health and wellness.