The examination of job separation tendency of nursing staff in the first public–private joint-venture hospital in Taiwan: a multiple mediation model of job satisfaction and job performance

Nursing staff are the largest number of employees in hospitals and the high turnover rate is a global problem, which is also a critical issue faced by many hospitals in Taiwan. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the factors affecting the job turnover of nursing staff and to propose suggestions to reduce job turnover. The results showed that among demographic variables, all variables except the affiliated unit were significantly positively or negatively related to job turnover intention. In the job characteristic analysis, it was found that job structure, repetitiveness of the job, the participation of nursing staff in job decisions, and compassionate leadership style were the antecedent variables affecting the intention to leave. Among organizational factors, colleague rapport was an antecedent variable to the intention to leave. Fairness of distribution, opportunity of in-service education, and colleague rapport added to job satisfaction to decrease the intention to leave. When using job performance as a mediation variable, this study found that promotion opportunity, fairness of distribution, and opportunity of in-service education could not affect the intention to leave through job performance. This study also found that the external job opportunities variable could be through a mediation variable, job satisfaction or job performance, which in turn affected the intention to leave. Several suggestions were proposed for top hospital management personnel, such as management by participation, planning a clear job structure, job rotation and job enrichment, and establishing a good working atmosphere and working environment to reduce job turnover.