Do information processing styles work as “personal resources” for professional care workers in nursing homes?

Abstract

  This study aims to verify the role of information processing styles as “personal resources” of professional care workers. Data from 662 staff members across 26 nursing homes were analyzed. Utilizing structural equation modeling, it was found that rational thinking is positively associated with high work engagement and low emotional exhaustion, while intuitive thinking shows a slight relation with high work engagement and high depersonalization. Preventive factors for depersonalization include high work engagement and low emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regression analysis reveals that intuitive thinking moderates the relationship between the behavioral inhibition system and emotional exhaustion. Consequently, rational thinking serves as a crucial “personal resource,” whereas intuitive thinking may not always play the same role. It may be important to foster the capacity for rational decision-making in individual cases, rather than solely relying on intuitive thinking based on experience, through On-the-Job Training (OJT) and staff education.