Staff nurse commitment, work relationships, and turnover intentions: a latent profile analysis

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Studies

Background:

• Traditional research on organizational commitment uses variable-centered approaches, limiting understanding of how commitment components interact.
• A person-centered approach is needed to explore distinct profiles of commitment and their holistic expression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct profiles of staff nurses' organizational commitment using latent profile analysis.
• To examine the associations between these commitment profiles and perceived work unit relations and turnover intentions.

Main Methods:

• Latent profile analysis was applied to commitment data from 336 registered nurses.
• Data included affective, normative, and continuance commitment, perceived work unit relations, and turnover intentions.
• Six distinct commitment profiles were identified and compared regarding work unit relations and turnover intentions.

Main Results:

• Profiles with high affective and/or normative commitment showed better work unit relations and lower turnover intentions.
• Profiles with high continuance commitment (relative to other types) or low overall commitment had poorer work unit relations and higher turnover risk.
• The interplay of high continuance commitment with varying levels of affective and normative commitment yielded different outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare organizations' reliance on continuance commitment strategies (e.g., high salaries) may unintentionally increase behavioral risks.
• Strengthening affective and normative commitment is crucial to contextualize and potentially mitigate risks associated with continuance commitment.