Thriving at work, decent work, and motivation as pathways to employee well-being and work fulfilment: Study among healthcare workers

Healthcare workers play a critical role in sustaining the quality, accessibility, and continuity of healthcare services, yet their own well-being and work fulfilment remain important concerns. This study examined the associations between thriving at work and decent work with employee well-being and work fulfilment, and tested motivational orientations as potential explanatory mechanisms among healthcare workers in Indonesia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 330 healthcare workers, using validated measures of decent work, thriving at work, motivation strategy, employee well-being, and work fulfilment, analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis and mediation analysis. In Model 1, decent work was significantly and positively associated with employee well-being, while thriving at work did not demonstrate a significant direct association. Indirect associations through instrumental motivation were non-significant for both predictors. In Model 2, thriving at work was significantly and positively associated with work fulfilment, while decent work did not produce a significant direct association. Internal self-concept motivation showed a significant positive indirect association between thriving at work and work fulfilment, while external self-concept motivation showed a significant negative indirect association between decent work and work fulfilment. Instrumental motivation did not show significant indirect associations in either model. These findings suggest that employee well-being and work fulfilment are distinct outcomes shaped by different combinations of structural and psychological factors. Healthcare organizations should prioritize structural decency as the foundation for workforce well-being, while cultivating conditions that foster thriving and autonomous motivation as the pathway to work fulfilment.