Decision-making structure in selecting home-visit nursing stations and its association with achievement of preferred work style: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan

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Background Sustaining the home healthcare nursing workforce is essential in an aging society. While previous research has primarily focused on burnout and turnover intention, limited evidence exists regarding the motivational structure underlying workplace selection and its relationship with achieving a preferred work style. This study aimed to clarify the decision-making structure in selecting home-visit nursing stations and examine its association with preferred work style achievement among home healthcare nurses in Japan. Methods A nationwide, cross-sectional online survey was conducted in December 2025. Among 2,046 responding nurses, 95 currently employed in home-visit nursing stations were included in the analysis. Workplace selection importance was assessed using items rated on a four-point Likert scale. An exploratory factor analysis with maximum likelihood extraction and Promax rotation was conducted. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between workplace factors and preferred work style achievement. Results Two motivational dimensions were identified: (1) Professional Growth and Community-Oriented Practice Orientation, and (2) Work–Life Integration Orientation, both of which demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.902 and 0.818, respectively). At the unadjusted level, perceived ease of taking childcare and caregiving leave and work environments that reduce physical burden showed nominal associations with achievement of a preferred work style; however, neither association remained statistically significant after Bonferroni correction for 18 comparisons. In a conventional exploratory multivariable model, rating career advancement orientation as “very important” showed a nominal association with preferred work style achievement; however, bootstrap sensitivity analysis indicated substantial instability in this estimate. Conclusions The findings suggest a preliminary two-factor motivational structure underlying workplace selection among home healthcare nurses. Workplace-factor and multivariable regression findings were exploratory and hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in larger independent samples. The proposed JD–R-based framework should therefore be interpreted as conceptual rather than confirmatory. Trial registration Not applicable.