The interplay between job-related factors of career development and organizational resilience among academic nurse educators: a mixed-methods study

In higher education, job-related factors significantly influence faculty members’ career development, satisfaction, and institutional commitment. While organizational resilience is critical for academic sustainability, limited evidence exists on how faculty perceptions of their work environment relate to it—especially through a mixed-methods approach. This study aimed to explore the relationship between faculty members’ perceptions of job-related career development factors and organizational resilience using an integrated mixed-methods design. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining a descriptive cross-sectional survey with semi-structured interviews. The quantitative phase included 60 faculty members from a Saudi university using convenience sampling. Data were collected through an online questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics, job-related career development factors, and organizational resilience. The qualitative phase involved semi-structured interviews with 12 faculty members to gain deeper insight into their lived experiences. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Quantitatively, 71.7% of participants reported high perceptions of job-related career development factors (M = 99.51, SD = 13.6), and 83.3% demonstrated high levels of organizational resilience (M = 71.42, SD = 9.6). Regression analysis revealed that job-related factors are significantly associated with organizational resilience (β = 0.298, p = 0.001), explaining 41% of the variance (R² = 0.41). Qualitative findings produced four themes—Roots of Growth, Autonomy with Anchors, Bouncing Forward, and Disconnected Bridges—that revealed how mentorship, leadership practices, adaptive behavior, and systemic constraints influenced faculty development and institutional resilience. This study reveals significant associations between faculty career development factors—particularly autonomy, mentorship, and supportive leadership—and organizational resilience in academic institutions. Academic leaders and policy-makers may consider implementing structured, inclusive development programs and mentorship pathways to support faculty engagement and institutional adaptability, which relates to institutional capacity. However, the cross-sectional design precludes causal inference.