Thriving at Work and Associated Factors Among Nurses at a Chinese Stomatological Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study.

AIM: To describe thriving at work among oral healthcare nurses and examine its associations with personality traits, empowering leadership, and department. BACKGROUND: Evidence on thriving at work in oral healthcare nursing and across dental departments remains limited. METHODS: A single-center cross-sectional census survey was conducted in a Chinese stomatological hospital. Data from 190 female nurses were analyzed using group comparisons, Pearson correlations, a Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and standard multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The mean total Thriving at Work Scale score was 52.42 ± 8.89, and Learning scores were higher than Vitality scores. The regression model explained 51.9% of the variance. Neuroticism was negatively associated with thriving, whereas Conscientiousness and Extraversion were positively associated with it. After simultaneous adjustment, nurses in Pediatric Dentistry had lower thriving scores than those in General Dentistry. The association with empowering leadership was less stable across sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Thriving was associated with individual dispositions and departments in this single-center sample; causal inferences cannot be made. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Managers may consider assessing both Learning and Vitality and further investigating the lower thriving observed in Pediatric Dentistry. Personality findings should be used only to guide equitable, non-stigmatizing support.