Do income-welfare satisfaction and competency enhance work engagement among Chinese nursing home caregivers? ——A moderated mediating effect based on professional identity

Due to China's aging population, there is a high demand for elderly care that is further exacerbated by the shortage of well-trained caregivers and high turnover rates in nursing homes, urgently requiring enhanced work engagement of caregivers. This study used structural equation modeling based on the survey data of Chinese caregivers in nursing homes to explore the association among income-welfare satisfaction, competency, professional identity, family support and work engagement. Findings indicated that (1) income-welfare satisfaction, competency, and professional identity all enhanced caregivers' work engagement, with professional identity being stronger. (2) Professional identity partially mediated the effects of income-welfare satisfaction and competency on work engagement, with higher values and shares of competency. (3) When family support was high, the positive effect of income-welfare satisfaction on professional identity was significant, and the mediating role of professional identity between income-welfare satisfaction and work engagement was moderated by family support.