Abstract:

Objective To understand the relationship between perceived organizational support，emotional exhaustion and driving behavior among bus drivers，and explore the mediating role of emotional exhaustion between perceived organizational support and driving behavior，so as to lay the foundation for improving the driving behavior of bus drivers. Methods In June 2024，the convenience sampling method was used to select 578 bus drivers from six bus companies in Anhui Province as survey respondents. A cross-sectional survey was performed by using the organizational support scale，emotional exhaustion scale，and driving behavior scale，and the data were analyzed. Results The scores of driving behavior，emotional exhaustion and perceived organizational support scale were （23.88±9.06），（8.17±6.77） and （76.42±18.71）points，respectively. The perceived organizational support was negatively correlated with driving behavior（r=-0.611，P<0.01），the emotional exhaustion was positively correlated with driving behavior（r=0.667，P<0.01），and the perceived organizational support was negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion（r=-0.600，P<0.01）. The mediation effect test showed that bus drivers' emotional exhaustion partially mediated between perceived organizational support and driving behavior（effect value=-0.256，95%CI：-0.342--0.183），and the mediation effect accounted for 36.80% of the total effect. Conclusions The perceived organizational support can not only directly influence bus drivers' driving behavior，but also indirectly influence driving behavior through the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion. The bus companies can improve drivers' perceived organizational support and level of emotional exhaustion，and thus driving behavior，by improving compensation and promotion systems，establishing effective communication and feedback channels，and improving employee benefits.

Key words: Bus driver, Perceived organizational support, Emotional exhaustion, Driving behavior, Mediating effect