Organizational Commitment and Intention to Leave of Nurses in Portuguese Hospitals

Abstract

Intention to leave is influenced by the commitment and individual and structural factors. It is a critical dimension in health systems due to the shortage of professionals and the potential impact on the quality of care. The present paper: (i) characterizes organizational commitment and intention to leave; (ii) analyzes the relationship between structural factors (such as, work environment and nurse staffing), individual factors (age), and nurses’ organizational commitments and intention to leave; and (iii) analyzes the differences in the intention to leave and in the organizational commitment according to service specialty, nurses’ specialization, and contractual relationship in Portuguese public hospitals. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 850 nurses from 12 public hospitals units. The results show a high affective and continuance commitment of nurses with the hospital, and a reduced tendency of the intention to leave. A significant positive association was also found between the intent to leave and individual/structural factors. Organizational commitment and intention to leave levels are satisfactory, despite the influence of several factors, such as nurse staffing, work environment, or other opportunities for professional development. The results identify particularly sensitive areas that, through adequate health and management policies, can reduce nurses’ intentions to leave and promote the sustainability of the health system.

Ethical work climate and the intention to leave the service in emergency medical technicians during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Data collection tools included the Ethical Climate Questionnaire developed by Victor and Cullen, and the Intention to Leave the Service Questionnaire designed by Seashore ( 13 - 17 ). The Ethical Climate Questionnaire was designed in 1988 and had 26 items in five dimensions: care and attention ( 1 - 7 ), law ( 8 - 11 ), rules ( 12 - 15 ), instrumental ( 16 - 22 ), and independence ( 23 - 26 ). The care dimension is related to the ethical standards of each person in the organization, but the law dimension shows the ethical standards of the organization.…”

“…Leaving the service is defined as the loss of an organization's workforce over time ( 1 ), and the intention to do so is an essential and significant prediction of the actual leaving of service. In other words, there is a cognitive stage before the act and refers to the thought or mental decision about staying or leaving the job ( 2 ).…”

Organization factors influencing quality of work life among seniors’ care workers with severe low back pain

“…Survey items addressed salary, 4 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 14 , 28 human relationships with superiors and colleagues, 4 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 14 , 29 support from the workplace in case of trouble, 5 , 6 , 7 promotion or official position, 5 care education and training, 8 , 9 , 10 discretionary responsibility level, 11 , 12 , 13 working hours or time off, 14 and number of workers. 12 , 15 In addition, based on the results of our interviews of 12 care workers in May 2018 to explore the QWL improvement factor (unpublished), we included questions addressing caregiving techniques and personal events. Responses were measured using a 5‐point scale with the following satisfaction levels: “very dissatisfied” (1), “dissatisfied” (2), “no opinion” (3), “satisfied” (4), and “very satisfied” (5).…”

“…4 Moreover, high QWL, overall job satisfaction, and low staff turnover require workplace support from superiors, 5 , 6 , 7 opportunities for promotion or official positions, 5 education and training, 8 , 9 , 10 high discretionary responsibility level, 11 , 12 , 13 steady but flexible working hours, 14 and a sufficient number of coworkers to handle the workload. 12 , 15 …”

“…4 Moreover, high QWL, overall job satisfaction, and low staff turnover require workplace support from superiors, [5][6][7] opportunities for promotion or official positions, 5 education and training, [8][9][10] high discretionary responsibility level, [11][12][13] steady but flexible working hours, 14 and a sufficient number of coworkers to handle the workload. 12,15 Low back pain (LBP) is a serious and pervasive occupational safety and health hazard, and LBP prevalence is high among care facility staff. [16][17][18][19][20] In Japan, the number of care workers with LBP is increasing in parallel with workforce size, 21 which as mentioned must expand to meet the needs of an aging population.…”