The Influence of Supervisor Support on Nurses’ Turnover Intention

Abstract

Maintaining adequate nursing staff is a real challenge that many healthcare organizations are facing. Many factors have been identified to positively influence the reduction of turnover intention among. A comprehensive search was conducted in 2016 to review six databases CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier, Education Research Complete, Health Source, and PsycINFO using a combination of keywords. All 12 studies included in the review consistently found a negative association between supervisor support and turnover intention. However, there were variations in the strength of this association. This systematic review points to the potential of decreasing turnover intention by improving supervisors’ support behaviors. Although there are discrepancies within the literature regarding the strength of the association between supervisor support and turnover intention, evidence suggests that supervisor support could impact employees’ turnover intention and thus actual turnover. Further research to evaluate the effectiveness of supervisor support on turnover intention is highly recommended, including interventional studies. Support in the workplace could be seen as a serious resource for reducing nursing turnover. Nursing supervisor and managers are encouraged to improve their supportive behaviors. Nursing policies are needed to promote supervisor supportive behaviors such as training programs and workshops.