Effects of work environment and job characteristics on the turnover intention of experienced nurses: The mediating role of work engagement

• Published in: Journal of advanced nursing Vol. 74; no. 6; pp. 1332 - 1341
• Main Authors: Wan, Qiaoqin, Li, Zhaoyang, Zhou, Weijiao, Shang, Shaomei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-06-2018
• Subjects: Adult; Burnout, Professional - psychology; China; Correlation analysis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Employee turnover; Extrinsic motivation; Female; Health care expenditures; Hospitals; Humans; Job characteristics; Job Satisfaction; Labor shortages; Male; Middle Aged; nurse; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing Staff, Hospital - psychology; Nursing Staff, Hospital - statistics & numerical data; Personnel Turnover - statistics & numerical data; Quality of care; Structural equation modeling; structural equation modelling; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turnover; turnover intention; work engagement; Work environment; Workforce planning; Workplace - psychology; Workplace - statistics & numerical data; China; nurse; work engagement; work environment; structural equation modelling; turnover intention; job characteristics
• ISSN: 0309-2402; 1365-2648
• DOI: 10.1111/jan.13528

Aim
To assess turnover intention among experienced nurses and explore the effects of work environment, job characteristics and work engagement on turnover intention.
Background
The nursing shortage is an urgent concern in China. A high turnover rate of experienced nurses could have serious effects on the quality of care, costs and the efficiency of hospitals. It is crucial to explore the predictors of turnover intention and develop strategies tailored to experienced nurses.
Design
A descriptive, cross‐sectional survey design.
Methods
A total of 778 experienced nurses from seven hospitals was surveyed on their work engagement, job characteristics, work environment and turnover intention in March–May 2017. Structural equation modelling was used to test a theoretical model and the hypotheses.
Results
The results showed that 35.9% of experienced nurses had high‐level turnover intention. The final model explained 50% of the variance in experienced nurses' turnover intention and demonstrated that: (1) work environment was positively associated with higher work engagement and lower turnover intention and work engagement partially mediated the relationship between work environment and turnover intention; and (2) job characteristics were positively related to higher work engagement and lower turnover intention and work engagement fully mediated the relationship between job characteristics and turnover intention.
Conclusions
The study confirms the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on work engagement posited by job demands‐resources model. Theory‐driven strategies to improve work environment, enhance job characteristics and promote wok engagement are needed to address the nursing shortage and high turnover intention among experienced nurses.