Nurse managers and leaders who practice relational leadership and ensure quality workplace environments are more likely to retain their staff. The findings of the present study support the claim that leadership practices influence staff nurse retention and builds on intent to stay knowledge.

Increased understanding of the causal influences on nurses' intent to stay should lead to strategies that may result in higher retention rates and numbers of nurses willing to work in the health sector.

How nurses evaluate and respond to their work environment is both an emotional and rational process. Health care organizations need to be cognizant of the influence that nurses' feelings and views of their work setting have on their intention decisions and integrate that knowledge into the development of retention strategies. Leadership practices play an important role in staff nurses' perceptions of the workplace. Identifying the mechanisms by which leadership influences staff nurses' intentions to stay presents additional focus areas for developing retention strategies.

Healthcare organizations often foster commitment by using continuance commitment-enhancing strategies (e.g., offer high salaries and attractive benefits) that may inadvertently introduce behavioral risk. This work suggests the importance of changing the context in which continuance commitment occurs by strengthening the other two components.