The Moderating and Mediating Effects of Emotional Labor, Job Satisfaction, and Resilience in Generation MZ Nurses

This study aimed to examine the levels of emotional labor, job satisfaction, and resilience among MZ generation nurses, and to identify the moderating and mediating effects of resilience on these relationships.The study subjects and data collection were conducted from October 1 to December 2024 among 123 nurses aged 20 to 30 who had worked for more than six months at three general hospitals with more than 900 beds in the K province.The study design was a cross-sectional survey, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 27.0.Results showed that MZ generation nurses had high emotional labor, job satisfaction, and resilience levels.Differences in variables according to general characteristics indicated that emotional labor was statistically significant with education level (t=-2.908,p=.010), work experience (t=3.384,p<.037), and monthly salary (t=-3.294,p=.001).Emotional labor among Generation MZ nurses had a significant negative correlation with job satisfaction (r=-.469,p<.001) and resilience (r=-.312,p<.001), while job satisfaction had a positive correlation with resilience (r=.732, p<.001).There was no moderating effect of resilience on the relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction, but there was a partial mediating effect (Z=0.28, p<.001), with an explanatory power of 60.1% (F=90.20,p<.001).The results of this study suggest that various strategies to enhance job satisfaction among MZ generation nurses can also improve their resilience.