The Influence of Compassion Fatigue on Job Performance and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

Purpose: This study investigated the influence of compassion fatigue on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Moreover, this study analyzed whether person–job fit effectively moderates the negative impacts of compassion fatigue. Design: A longitudinal, two-stage questionnaire was used to collect data. Methods: This study adopted a convenience sampling whose participants consisted of 263 nursing staff from medical centers, regional hospitals, district hospitals, and clinics in Taiwan. Descriptive, correlational, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to investigate the relationships between variables. Findings: The study results indicated that compassion fatigue exerts a significant negative influence on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior, whereas person–job fit effectively moderates the negative relationships between compassion fatigue and job performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Conclusions: Hospital administrations could pay more attention to the negative influence of compassion fatigue on the job performance and organizational citizenship behavior of nursing staff. Enhancing person–job fit can mitigate the negative impacts of compassion fatigue. Clinical Relevance: Apart from seeking reasons for compassion fatigue and proposing effective solutions, hospitals also could adopt appropriate practices to constantly monitor and manage the person–job fit of nursing staff, thereby assisting the nursing staff in adapting to current nursing job requirements.