Effects of Work‐Family Conflict and Work Engagement Interactions on Hospital Nurses’ Turnover Intentions during the COVID‐19 Pandemic: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Abstract

High nurse turnover is a worldwide problem that was exacerbated by COVID‐19, leading to further staffing shortages and negatively affecting patient care quality. Although options to minimize nurse turnover are frequently discussed, and high levels of work‐family conflict are known to increase turnover intentions while high levels of work engagement are associated with lower turnover intentions, not much is known about how the two interact to affect turnover intentions. This study investigated the impact of work‐family conflict, work engagement, and their interaction on turnover intentions among Japanese hospital nurses. A cross‐sectional design was employed. Hobfoll’s conservation of resources theory was applied as the theoretical framework. A total of 827 nurses working at public or similar to public hospitals in the Tokyo metropolitan area participated in a web‐based survey. The survey included personal characteristics, turnover intentions, the Japanese version of the Work‐Family Conflict Scale, and the Work Engagement Scale of the New Simplified Work Stress Questionnaire. Correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and simple slope analysis were used to examine the associations among turnover intention, work‐family conflict, and work engagement, and their interactions. A significance level of 0.05 (two‐tailed) was chosen. Analysis of 124 data sets revealed an average participant age of 40.0 years, with 94.4% being female. Hierarchical multiple regression identified significant relationships among work‐family conflict, work engagement, work‐family conflict x work engagement, full‐time employment, marital status, and having children. Simple slope analysis demonstrated a significant positive link between work‐family conflict and turnover intention, irrespective of work engagement level, with the effect of work‐family conflict buffered by high work engagement. Work‐family conflict must be reduced to minimize nurse turnover, but given the buffering effect of work engagement, measures to increase work engagement should be promoted.