Indirect associations involving four work-motivation dimensions between perceived organizational climate and work engagement among geriatric nursing assistants in China: a cross-sectional study

Population ageing has increased demand for long-term care, yet evidence on organizational and motivational correlates of work engagement among geriatric nursing assistants in China remains limited. Using convenience sampling, this cross-sectional survey recruited geriatric nursing assistants from nine aged care institutions in Xi’an and Weinan, Shaanxi Province, China, between May and August 2025. Of 396 returned questionnaires, 330 were included after prespecified data screening. Participants completed measures of perceived organizational climate, four work-motivation dimensions, and work engagement. Pearson correlations, observed-score regressions, four separate structural equation models, and 5,000-resample bias-corrected bootstrap analyses were conducted. Institution- and covariate-adjusted sensitivity analyses were also performed. In the joint regression model, intrinsic motivation ( β = 0.420, p < 0.001) and introjected regulation ( β = 0.324, p < 0.001) were independently associated with work engagement, whereas perceived organizational climate, identified regulation, and external regulation were not. Across the four structural equation models, perceived organizational climate was positively associated with each motivation dimension (standardized β = 0.652–0.704), and each motivation dimension was positively associated with work engagement ( β = 0.543–0.771). Because each model included only one motivation dimension, the indirect estimates were model-specific rather than unique contributions independent of the other dimensions. Significant indirect associations were observed through intrinsic motivation ( β = 0.519, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.430, 0.636]), identified regulation ( β = 0.430, [0.349, 0.532]), introjected regulation ( β = 0.530, [0.439, 0.648]), and external regulation ( β = 0.359, [0.258, 0.497]). In separate sensitivity analyses based on standardized observed scores, the four indirect associations remained statistically significant after adjustment for institutions and selected individual-level covariates. Perceived organizational climate and the four work-motivation dimensions were associated with work engagement among geriatric nursing assistants. The findings support further investigation of how organizational conditions and qualitatively different forms of work motivation relate to engagement. Because all variables were measured concurrently, temporal ordering and causal mediation cannot be established.