J Korean Acad Nurs.  2026 May;56(2):166-178. 10.4040/jkan.25099.

The mediating effects of perceived organizational support and coping strategies on the relationship between job stress and professional quality of life among nurse managers in tertiary and general hospitals

• Yang SI
• Choi MJ

• KMID: 2581243
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.25099

Abstract

Purpose
This study aimed to examine the mediating effects of perceived organizational support and coping strategies on the relationship between job stress and professional quality of life among nurse managers working in tertiary and general hospitals.
Methods
The participants were 299 nurse managers employed at tertiary and general hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Data on job stress, perceived organizational support, coping strategies, and professional quality of life were collected using an online self-report questionnaire between June 28, 2024, and May 31, 2025. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 27.0 and the PROCESS Macro ver. 4.0.
Results
Job stress was identified as a significant predictor of professional quality of life among nurse managers. Perceived organizational support and active coping demonstrated significant mediating effects on compassion satisfaction. Active coping showed a significant mediating effect on burnout, whereas perceived organizational support mediated secondary traumatic stress. Passive coping did not demonstrate a significant mediating effect on any of the three subdomains of professional quality of life.
Conclusion
Job stress is closely associated with compassion satisfaction, and this relationship is partially mediated by perceived organizational support and active coping. Accordingly, targeted interventions are required to reduce job stress, strengthen organizational support, and enhance coping competencies among nurse managers. Furthermore, reinforcing institutional- and policy-level support is essential to mitigate secondary traumatic stress and to ensure the sustainability of nurse managers’ professional roles.

Keyword

Coping skills; Nurse administrators; Occupational stress; Quality of life; Social support