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Nurses’ Intention to Leave the Organization: A Mediation Study of Professional Burnout and Engagement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2018

Alexandra Marques-Pinto ,
Élvio Henriques Jesus ,
Aida Maria Oliveira Cruz Mendes ,
Inês Fronteira  and
Magda Sofia Roberto
Alexandra Marques-Pinto*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
Élvio Henriques Jesus
Affiliation:
Universidade Catolica Portuguesa (Portugal)
Aida Maria Oliveira Cruz Mendes
Affiliation:
Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra (Portugal)
Inês Fronteira
Affiliation:
Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal)
Magda Sofia Roberto
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Alexandra Marques-Pinto. Universidade de Lisboa. Faculdade de Psicologia. Centro de Investigação em Ciências Psicológicas (CICPSI). Alameda da Universidade, 1649–013, Lisboa (Portugal).
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Abstract

The nature of the turnover process calls for the study of more complex relationships among variables beyond simple bivariate or multiple associations between predictors and turnover intentions. The present article aims to examine the predictive value of job demands and resources in the explanation of nurses’ intention to leave the organization and to test the mediating roles of professional burnout and engagement in these relationships, within a Portuguese nursing population. The research models were tested within the scope of the Registered Nurse Forecasting project. Data included the self-report questionnaires of 2,235 Portuguese nurses from 31 hospitals, collected through stratified random sampling procedures. The statistical analyses of the structural models showed that nurses’ participation in hospital affairs, a job resource at the work organization level, was the only significant predictor of nurses´ intention to leave the organization (β = –.45, p < .001). Analyses of the mediation models revealed that the emotional exhaustion symptoms of burnout (β = –.11, p < .001) and job engagement feelings (β = –.15, p < .001) were both significant mediators between nurses’ decisional involvement and their intentions to leave the organization. Results suggest that including nurses in decision-making processes regarding their professional practice policy and environment, and improving nurses’ professional well-being are two crucial strategies to reduce nurses’ turnover intentions.

Keywords

burnoutnursesturnover intentionwork engagement
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 21 , 2018 , E32
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2018 

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