Relationship of Occupational Stress and Quality of Work Life with Turnover Intention among the Nurses of Public and Private Hospitals in Selected Cities of Guilan Province, Iran, in 2016

Introduction and Nurses’ intention to leave is one of the key nursing managerial issues. There are many factors affecting the turnover of the nurses, such as occupational stress and quality of work life (QWL). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between job stress, QWL, and turnover intention among the hospital nurses.
This descriptive, correlational study was conducted on 274 nurses of public and private hospitals in Guilan province, Iran, in 2016. The study population was selected through stratified random sampling technique. The data were collected using the Eliot’s job stress (1994), Walton’s QWL (1973), and Kim’s intention to leave (2007) questionnaires. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficients in SPSS, version 22.
According to the results, hospital nurses had moderate levels of occupational stress, QWL, and intention to leave. The level of occupational stress and intention to leave were significantly higher among the nurses of private hospitals than among those working in public hospitals (P As the findings indicated, intention to leave showed a significance relationship with occupational stress and QWL. In order to retain qualified and skillful workforce, the hospital managers should apply appropriate policies and strategies to improve QWL and reduce occupational stress.