Introduction. Frontline nurses often serve as the first contact point for trauma-exposed patients, making them vulnerable to poorer professional quality of life(ProQoL; positive/negative quality of being helping professionals) and psychological well-being. Western studies have found that work values(i.e., beliefs people exhibit in the workplace) can affect nurses' well-being. For example, psychological detachment(i.e., temporarily distancing oneself from work-related thoughts during off-hours) was associated with lower risks of burnout and insomnia. However, how other Chinese culturally-salient work values (e.g.,"minimizing job efforts could avoid errors") are associated with nurses' well-being are understudied.


Purpose. To examine nurses' work values and their associations with ProQoL(i.e., compassion satisfaction(CS), burnout(BO), secondary traumatic stress(STS)), insomnia, and psychological distress.


Method. 689 Hong Kong nurses(85% female) having been caring for trauma-exposed patients(e.g., survivors of accidents, abuse, life-threatening illnesses) were recruited through nursing associations to complete an online survey between December 2024-September 2025.


Results. Logistic regression analyses showed that psychological detachment was associated with lower BO, STS, insomnia and psychological distress(ORs=0.53, p<.001 to 0.80, p<.05). However, the other four culturally-salient work values (i.e., "excessive work engagement was unsustainable", "minimizing job efforts could avoid errors", "being paid the same regardless of efforts", "being empathetic to every patient was emotionally-burdensome") were associated with lower CS(ORs from 0.31 to 0.53, ps<.001), higher BO, STS, insomnia, and psychological distress(ORs from 1.23, p<.05 to 1.53, p<.001).

Conclusions. We revealed the links between work values with ProQoL/psychological well-being among frontline nurses working in high-stress environment. Some culturally-salient work values(e.g., "excessive engagement being unsustainable", "minimizing effort to avoid errors", "perceiving effort as futile", "being empathetic as emotionally-burdensome") could be detrimental to ProQoL/psychological well-being, whereas psychological detachment emerged as beneficial to ProQoL/psychological well-being. Interventions that challenge culturally-salient work values and foster psychological detachment through cognitive-behavioral strategies/organizational culture shifts could be integrated into wellness support programs to enhance frontline nurses' professional and psychological well-being.