The effect of job stress, organizational support and self-compassion on nurses’turnover intention: the mediating role of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction

The turnover rate of nurses is a global issue. In China, nurses are experiencing high job-related burdens due to a shortage of nursing human resources. Reducing turnover intention is crucial since nurses’ intention to leave their jobs harms patient safety and health outcomes. To verify a hypothesized model of the relationships between job stress, organizational support, self-compassion and turnover intention, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction are introduced as mediating variables. This cross-sectional study included 349 nurses from 3 comprehensive hospitals in Anhui Province, China. They completed questionnaires on job stress, organizational support, self-compassion, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and turnover intention. The data were analyzed via SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 23.0, and a structural equation model was constructed. The final model showed a desirable fit with significant paths. Job stress, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction directly affect turnover intentions. Job stress and organizational support were significantly and indirectly related to turnover intention and the mediating role of compassion fatigue. In contrast, the mediating role of compassion satisfaction on turnover intention was insignificant. Moreover, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction have multiple mediating effects. Job stress and organizational support are antecedents of turnover intention among nurses in comprehensive hospitals, and they affect turnover intention through compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to find ways to improve organizational support and reduce job stress to alleviate compassion fatigue and thus reduce turnover intention. Intensifying support for nurses and developing intervention strategies from the perspective of compassion are crucial for nursing managers.