The Effect of Emotional Labor of Nursing Care Workers in Home Elderly Support Service on Turnover Intention: Mediated Job Role Stress and Self-Efficacy

This study examined the effects of emotional labor on turnover intention among care workers in home-based elderly support services and tested the mediating effects of job role stress and selfefficacy in this relationship.To achieve this purpose, an online survey was conducted with 300 care workers providing home-based elderly support services in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon from June 1 to June 15, 2026.The collected data were analyzed in SPSS 30.0 using frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and bootstrapping analysis with the PROCESS Macro.The results showed that emotional labor had a significant positive effect on turnover intention.Higher levels of emotional labor were associated with increased job role stress and decreased selfefficacy.In addition, job role stress significantly mediated the relationship between emotional labor and turnover intention, and self-efficacy also played a significant mediating role.Specifically, emotional labor indirectly increased turnover intention by increasing job role stress and decreasing self-efficacy.Based on these findings, it is suggested that, to reduce turnover intention among care workers in homebased elderly support services, organizations should manage emotional labor rather than treat it solely as an individual issue.Furthermore, organizations should clarify job roles and adjust workloads to reduce job role stress, while providing systematic education, mentoring, supervision, and psychological support to strengthen self-efficacy.This study contributes to understanding the process underlying turnover intention among care workers by examining the structural relationships among emotional labor, job role stress, and self-efficacy.It provides practical and policy implications for improving job retention among care workers and enhancing the quality and sustainability of home-based elderly support services.