Healing the healers: how empathy, active coping and mindfulness drive well-being and happiness of healthcare employees

Purpose Healthcare professionals face high job demands, which lead to emotional exhaustion and reduced well-being. Although the job demands-resources (JD-R) framework has been widely studied, limited research has examined the role of personal resources, such as empathy, active coping and mindfulness, in shaping healthcare workers’ well-being and happiness. This study explores how these personal resources interact with job demands and job resources to influence emotional exhaustion, work engagement, well-being and happiness among healthcare employees. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed. Data were collected from 237 healthcare professionals. The relationships among job demands, job resources, personal resources, emotional exhaustion, work engagement, well-being and happiness were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The findings confirm that job demands significantly contribute to emotional exhaustion, resulting in reduced employee well-being. Conversely, job resources such as organizational trust and supervisor support positively influence work engagement. Personal resources such as empathy, active coping and mindfulness play a crucial mediating role in buffering the negative effects of job demands and enhancing resilience. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional nature of this study limits causal inferences, and future research should employ longitudinal designs. Additionally, the sample drawn may limit the generalizability of the findings to other professional contexts. Originality/value This study makes a novel contribution by integrating personal resources into the JD-R framework and emphasizing their mediating role in the healthcare sector. Unlike prior research, which has focused mainly on job demands and job resources, this study highlights how personal strengths can be leveraged to improve employee resilience, engagement and well-being, ultimately benefiting both staff satisfaction and patient care.