The Effect of Perceived Supportive Resources on Counterproductive Work Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Thriving at Work Among Nurses

Background: Counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) are voluntary employee behaviors that harm the organization or its members, ranging from minor incivility and withdrawal to overt acts of misconduct. CWBs among nurses are widespread and carry adverse consequences for patients, nurses, and healthcare organizations, often reflecting problematic working conditions rather than individual character flaws. Perceived supportive resources, comprising individual resources (personal strengths and overall health), work resources (staffing and professional development), and interpersonal work resources (supervisor support and participation in unit decisions), have been proposed as protective factors. Thriving at work has been proposed as a potential protective motivational state that may account for how these resources are associated with behavior. Aim: This study examines how individual resources, work resources, and interpersonal work resources are associated with CWBs, and whether thriving at work mediates these associations among nurses in Saudi Arabia. Methods: One hundred twenty-nine nurses participated in this cross-sectional study between February and March 2026. Data were collected using the Thriving in Nursing Questionnaire (THINQ) and the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ). Data were analyzed via correlation, multiple regression, and mediation with bootstrapping. Results: Individual resources (r = −0.363), work resources (r = −0.270), and interpersonal work resources (r = −0.338) were each negatively associated with CWBs (all p < 0.001), and each was positively associated with thriving (r = 0.699, 0.793, and 0.794, respectively; all p < 0.001). Thriving at work was negatively associated with CWBs (r = −0.408, p < 0.001), and the associations of individual resources (indirect β = −0.212), work resources (β = −0.416), and interpersonal work resources (β = −0.301) with CWBs were fully accounted for by indirect effects through thriving, with all direct effects nonsignificant and the largest indirect effect for work resources (95% CI [−0.611, −0.217]). Conclusions: Thriving at work emerged as a key correlate through which individual, work, and interpersonal work resources were linked to CWBs among nurses. Enhancing thriving may help reduce CWBs, though longitudinal research is needed to confirm directionality.