The relationship between professional competence and work engagement among Chinese biomedical laboratory technicians: a moderated mediation model

Biomedical laboratories in China face severe staffing challenges. The shortage of highly engaged technicians hinders the progress of biomedical research and education. Although professional competence may relate to work engagement, its underlying mechanism in this population remains unclear. This study examines the psychological pathway between professional competence and work engagement among Chinese biomedical laboratory technicians, testing psychological empowerment as a mediator and perceived organizational support as a moderator. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 425 biomedical laboratory technicians in China (Mage = 37.95 years, SDage = 7.64). Well-validated self-report measures were administered to assess professional competence, psychological empowerment, perceived organizational support, and work engagement. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test a moderated mediation model in which psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between professional competence and work engagement, with perceived organizational support moderating the relationship between psychological empowerment and work engagement. These findings demonstrated that professional competence was significantly positively associated with work engagement among biomedical laboratory technicians in China. Psychological empowerment emerged as a partial mediator between professional competence and work engagement. Perceived organizational support acted as a moderator in the latter half of the mediation pathway. Specifically, the association between psychological empowerment and work engagement was greater for technicians with higher perceived organizational support than those with lower perceived organizational support. This study enhances our understanding of the internal mechanisms linking professional competence to work engagement among biomedical laboratory technicians in China. The findings provide both a theoretical framework and empirical evidence to inform initiatives aimed at building a supportive work culture in biomedical laboratories, which can promote biomedical laboratory technicians’ work engagement.