Purpose
This study aimed to explore the relationship between grit and work engagement among millennial and Generation Z (MZ generation) nurses, as well as the moderating effect of work friendships on this relationship.
Methods
The study included 191 MZ generation nurses with over six months of experience, surveyed via a self-administered questionnaire at four general hospitals in Daejeon and Seoul from December 2020 to February 2021. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression were used to analyze the collected data. The PROCESS macro program with bootstrapping was employed to evaluate the significance of mediating effects.
Results
Work friendships partially mediated the association between grit and work engagement, with an explanatory power of 29.9%. The significance of the indirect mediating effect using bootstrapping analysis indicated an effect size of 0.33, a lower limit confidence interval of 0.17, and an upper limit confidence interval of 0.52, which was significant as it did not include Zero.
Conclusion
Developing a program to improve grit is necessary to increase the work engagement of MZ generation nurses, and establishing and implementing a program to improve work friendships, along with education for individual nurses, is crucial.

Citations

• Effects of Empowerment and Job Satisfaction on Nursing Performance of Clinical Nurses
  Ji-Yeon Choi, Eun-Kyung Kim, Se Young Kim
  Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration.2014; 20(4): 426.     CrossRef
• The Effect of Empowerment on Nursing Performance, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Turnover Intention in Hospital Nurses
  Eun Hee Oh, Bok Yae Chung
  Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration.2011; 17(4): 391.     CrossRef
• Relationship between Critical Thinking Disposition, Clinical Decision Making and Job Satisfaction of Cancer Center Nurses
  Sam Chul Jung, Dukyoo Jung
  Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration.2011; 17(4): 443.     CrossRef