Workplace violence and turnover intentions among nurses: The moderating roles of invulnerability and organisational Support - A cross-sectional study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To investigate whether internal and external violence are associated with turnover intentions among nurses during demanding periods of work. BACKGROUND Workplace violence can negatively impact upon mental and physical health and turnover intentions. Research focusing on how dimensions of workplace violence, internal versus external, influence turnover intentions and the factors that mitigate these effect is lacking. METHODS An online cross-sectional survey of multi-item measures was used to collect data from 462 Iranian nurses. We employed path modelling and analysed the data using SPSS and PROCESS macro. A STROBE checklist was used to report findings. RESULTS Both dimensions, internal and external, of violence were positively associated with turnover intentions. Moreover, perceived invulnerability and organisational support moderates this association. When individuals perceived invulnerability and perceived organisational support are high, internal violence is no longer indirectly related to turnover intentions via job satisfaction. In a similar vein, when perceived invulnerability and perceived organisational support are low, external violence is not related to intentions to quit. When perceived invulnerability and perceived organisational support are high, however, external violence is indirectly and negatively related to intentions to quit. CONCLUSIONS Nurses who regard themselves as invulnerable might be motivated to quit when they experience workplace violence. However, they are motivated to stay on the job when they both perceive themselves as invulnerable and the organisation as supporting. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Organisations should reconsider their policies and approach towards workplace violence especially during periods of intensive work.