The quality of work life and turnover intentions among Malaysian nurses: the mediating role of organizational commitment

BACKGROUND: Understanding the factors influencing nurses’ turnover intention, particularly the work life quality and commitment to organization, is important to all countries suffering from nursing shortage. The study aims to determine the mediating role of commitment to organization on work life quality and its relationship with turnover intention among Malaysian nurses. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional design, using a self-report survey was conducted on 430 nurses from a teaching hospital from February to April 2019. A structural equation model version 3 was used for testing study hypotheses. RESULTS: The mediating effect (indirect effect) of organizational commitment on the relationship between work life quality and turnover intention (QWL→OC→IT) was negative with path coefficient − 0.234, whereas the direct effect of work life quality on turnover intention (QWL→IT) was negative with smaller path coefficient − 0.228. This means that the relationship between work life quality and turnover intention was partially mediated by the organizational commitment (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Organizational commitment has a negative partial mediating effect between work life quality of nurses and intention of turnover in teaching hospitals where the organizational commitment significantly reduced the nurses’ intention to leave. The study findings can guide nursing managers to be carefully attended to the levels of nurses’ commitment to their organization.