The intention to leave among nurses: the role of job satisfaction, self-efficacy and work engagement.

Abstract

Retaining nursing staff within hospitals is essential to limit the negative impact of excessive voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organization costs. The purpose of this study is to explain voluntary turnover in the nursing profession by analyzing the influence of job satisfaction and, in particular, self-efficacy and work engagement on turnover intention. 210 nurses working in three hospitals in Southern Italy have completed a self-report questionnaire. A correlation analysis was applied in order to test the relationship between variables, while the role of age, professional and organizational seniority was estimated through partial correlations. A multiple linear regression was performed to verify the role of self-efficacy and work engagement in predicting turnover intention. Job satisfaction, self-efficacy and work engagement are positively correlated. These dimensions are negatively correlated with the intention to change the hospital; furthermore, age, professional and organizational seniority have an effect on this relationship. Work engagement fully mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and turnover intention. Results highlight the importance of considering not only job satisfaction, but also self-efficacy and work engagement, in studies on turnover intentions. These findings suggest to implement actions to increase self-efficacy, and especially work engagement, to reduce the voluntary turnover of nursing staff.