Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

In light of current concerns over nursing shortages and productivity, turnover among hospital nurses in the United States has assumed renewed importance as a managerial issue. This study examines the thesis that the social organization of work in hospitals is an importnt determinate of voluntary turnover among among registered nurses. This perspective differed from previous work in this area in that both turnover and its determinants are conceptualized at the organizational rather than individual level, thus opening the way for adminisrtative intervention to reduce turnover. The conceptual model is tested using multiple regression techniques on a sample of 435 hospitals. Results suggest that both organizational characteristics and enviromental conditions are important contributors to turnover.