Job Satisfaction Mediates Associations of Change Fatigue, Organizational Support, and Work Overload with Quiet Quitting Among Healthcare Workers

Background: In the demanding healthcare environment, change fatigue, lack of organizational support, and work overload have been linked to burnout and disengagement, potentially leading to quiet quitting. This study examined the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between change fatigue, organizational support, work overload, and quiet quitting among healthcare workers. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design, collecting data from 487 healthcare professionals (57.3% females) across various roles, including physicians, nurses, midwives, health officers, and technicians. The research used paper-based questionnaires, including socio-demographic questions and self-report measures for change fatigue, organizational support, work overload, job satisfaction, and quiet quitting. Data collection took place in Türkiye during January and February 2024. Three separate simple mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS Model 4, with 5000 bootstrap samples and 95% bootstrap confidence intervals. Results: Change fatigue, organizational support, and work overload were significantly associated with job satisfaction and quiet quitting. Job satisfaction was also significantly associated with quiet quitting. Furthermore, significant indirect associations of change fatigue, organizational support, and work overload with quiet quitting through job satisfaction were observed. The standardized indirect associations were significant for change fatigue (β = 0.14, SE = 0.01, 95% bootstrap CI [0.11, 0.17]), organizational support (β = −0.11, SE = 0.02, 95% bootstrap CI [−0.15, −0.06]), and work overload (β = 0.13, SE = 0.01, 95% bootstrap CI [0.09, 0.17]). Conclusions: These findings suggest that job satisfaction may represent a potentially relevant explanatory pathway linking these workplace factors with quiet quitting.