Factors Associated with Work Engagement of Home-Visit Care Workers Based on Job Demands–Resources Model: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to identify the factors associated with work engagement among home-visit care workers in South Korea, the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model was used as a guiding theoretical framework. Methods: This descriptive correlational study used secondary data from the 2020 Survey on the Service Environment of Home Care Workers by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. Participants were 509 certified home-visit care workers from Seoul and Chungcheong, each caring for one recipient. Measures included emotional labor, self-rated health, relationship quality with care recipients, and work engagement. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Results: Work engagement was negatively associated with emotional labor and positively associated with self-rated health, relationship quality with care recipient, and satisfaction with the care environment. Emotional labor remained a significant negative relationship, while self-rated health and relationship quality with care recipients emerged as key positive relationships. The final model explained 17.0% of the variance. Conclusions: These findings support the applicability of the JD-R model in understanding work engagement among home-visit care workers. Although job demands such as emotional labor may hinder engagement, individual and relational resources play protective and motivating roles. The diminished influence of physical and environmental factors in the presence of strong personal resources highlights the importance of a balanced approach that strengthens the emotional, physical, and relational capacities to support sustainable engagement.