How do work–life balance programmes influence nurses' psychological well-being? The role of servant leadership and learning goal orientation

Aims: Our study aims to investigate the effect of work–life balance programmes on Chinese nurses' psychological well-being, directly and indirectly, via learning goal orientation. Our research also aims to investigate the moderating role of servant leadership, a holistic leadership style that prioritizes serving employees, in the association between work–life balance programmes and psychological well-being. Design: A questionnaire-based, time-lagged study (1-week interval). Methods: From September 2022 to October 2022, we collected a total of 211 matched and valid responses from nurses working for hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. Data regarding work–life balance programmes, servant leadership, learning goal orientation and psychological well-being were gathered using a survey administered in two waves, 1 week apart. We utilized the PROCESS Model 5 to test the moderated mediation model. Results: Work–life balance programmes significantly improved nurses' psychological well-being. Moreover, learning goal orientation mediated the relationship between work–life balance programmes and psychological well-being. However, servant leadership did not moderate the association between work–life balance programmes and psychological well-being. Conclusion: Our study contributes to extant nursing literature by attending to the organizational strategies that promote psychological well-being. This study is novel because it evaluates the mediating and moderating process through which work–life balance programmes improve nurses' psychological well-being. Impact: The provision of work–life balance programmes could enhance learning goal orientation, resulting in possible improvement in nurses' psychological well-being. Moreover, servant leadership styles may contribute to psychological well-being. Our study can help nurse managers enhance their organizational strategies (e.g. work–life balance programmes) and leadership resources (e.g. servant leadership styles) to address nurses' well-being issues. Patient or Public Contribution: This paper addresses the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 3 regarding ‘Good Health and Well-being’.