How do shared values improve eudaimonic workplace well-being: role of perceived justice and emotional exhaustion among nurses

PurposeThis study aims to explore how shared values improve eudaimonic workplace well-being, the fulfillment that comes from personal development and the utilization of personal capabilities. The authors investigate the serial mediating role that perceived overall justice and emotional exhaustion play in how shared values relate to well-being.Design/methodology/approachUsing data collected from three hundred nurses in Turkish healthcare institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic (Male = 113, Female = 187). The age of participants ranged from 19 to 58 and the average age was 34. The snowball sampling method was used to form the sample and self-administered surveys that could be completed online were delivered to the sampled nurses.FindingsThe authors analysis using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) supported the expected relationship between shared values and eudaimonic workplace well-being as well as the mediating role of perceived overall justice and emotional exhaustion. The authors also show a serial mediation where shared values are related to justice perceptions which in turn negatively relate to emotional exhaustion which subsequently relates to higher levels of eudaimonic workplace well-being.Originality/valueThe results of this study suggest that when the shared values between the healthcare institution and the employees are aligned, the eudaimonic well-being of employees is higher. The findings provide implications for the mental health of frontline employees in health organizations to have higher levels of eudaimonic well-being which is especially important in times of intense pressure such as the period during the COVID-19 pandemic.