Quality of work life as perceived by staff nurses and its relation to their turnover intention at critical care units

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Nursing administration department, faculty of nursing/ Minia University, Egypt

2 Nursing Administration department, faculty of nursing / Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

A high quality of work life (QWL) is essential and critical for hospitals to attract new nurses
and retain qualified and motivated workforce. Consequently, hospitals are seeking ways to
address the issues of recruitment and retention by achieving a high QWL. The aim of this study
was to assess quality of work life as perceived by staff nurses and its relation to their turnover
intention at critical care units. A descriptive correlational design was utilized. The study was
conducted at 5 critical care units in Minia university Hospital. A convenience sample of (80)
staff nurses working in critical care units was used. Two tools were utilized; first tool was a
modified Quality of Nursing Work Life (QWL) Questionnaire and the second tool was turnover
intention questionnaire. The findings of study indicated that (71.3%) of participants reported that
they had average level of quality of working life and as for turnover intention among participants,
(75%) of them had the intention to leave the hospital. Finally, a significant negative correlation
was found between Quality of work life as perceived by staff nurses and their turnover intention
at critical care unit. The study concluded that it is important to promote and maintain quality of
work life of nurses for increasing productivity, reducing turnover and improving quality of care.
The study recommended that Hospital administrators might be able to improve the level of
QWL by increasing nurses’ satisfaction with job security professional recognition, work
conditions, work schedule, workload and nursing staffing.

Keywords