The mental health of employees in railway enterprises is related to the safety and stability of railway transportation, and the job characteristics are the important factors that affect individual occupational mental health. Previous studies based on Job Demands-Resources theory have shown that job demands and job resources are closely related to job burnout, but domestic studies lack empirical studies on specific industries, and the potential mechanism of job characteristics affecting performance and mental health is still unclear. Based on the Job Demands-Resources theory, this study developed the job characteristics scale of railway enterprises to explore the impact of employees' job characteristics on performance and mental health, and analyzed the mediating effects of basic psychological needs.
In study 1, qualitative research is used to analyze the job characteristics faced by employees in railway enterprises. Purposive and theoretical samplings were used to select 77 employees across 9 railway units as research objects，and interview method was used to conduct qualitative research in order to determine the structural dimensions and items of the questionnaire. The results showed that the industry job characteristics affecting the work feelings of employees in railway enterprises included not only the general characteristics of career prospects and work overload, but also industry-specific leisure activities and other job resources.
In study 2, quantitative research is used to test the job characteristics questionnaire. The 612 subjects selected from the railway maintenance system went through the preliminary test and the questionnaires were randomly divided into two groups, one group was used for exploratory factor analysis and the other group was used for confirmatory factor analysis. The results show: The questionnaire included two factors, job demands and job resources, with a total of 14 items, and the factor loads of each item ranged from 0.761 to 0.916，and the two factors accounted for 71. 02% of the total variance. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fitting of the two-factor model.
In study 3, quantitative research is used to explore the impact of different job characteristics on employee performance and mental health, and the mediating effects of basic psychological needs. 1360 employees of locomotive maintenance，vehicle depot, signal and communication maintenance, and power supply systems were selected in three regions. The results showed that: Job demands were positively correlated with job burnout and turnover intention, and job resources were positively correlated with job performance and job satisfaction; Basic psychological needs play an intermediary role in the process of job characteristics affecting job performance and mental health, but the roles of relatedness, competence and autonomy are different.
This study designed and validated a questionnaire on the job characteristics of railway employees. The questionnaire's validity and reliability were tested. The impact of job characteristics on mental health and performance is examined, with a focus on the mediating role of basic psychological needs. The study theoretically tests and develops the JD-R theory as well as introducing the motivation theory. Practically, the study provides a job characteristics measurement for railway enterprises to carry out employee psychological services, and provides empirical research evidence to design more effective employee psychological services for different business systems.
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