Intention to leave nursing The importance of interpersonal work context, work-home interference, and job satisfaction beyond the effect of occupational commitment Beatrice I.J.M. van der Heijden Open University of The Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands Karen van Dam Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands, and Hans Martin Hasselhorn University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine potential predictors of nurses’ intention to leave the nursing profession. Specifically, this study investigates whether perceptions of the interpersonal work environment, work-home interference, and subsequent job satisfaction, would predict occupational turnover intentions beyond the impact of nurses’ occupational commitment. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire is completed twice, with a one-year interval by 1,187 registered nurses. Data were collected between October 2002 and June 2003. Findings – The outcomes of structural equation modelling analyses reveal that an unsupportive work environment, low leadership quality, and high work-to-home interference results in lower job satisfaction, which, in turn, predicts nurses’ intention to leave the profession one year afterwards, when controls for occupational commitment. Work-to-home interference shows an additional, direct relationship with occupational turnover intentions. Practical implications – The findings have implications for organizational and individual interventions, indicating that nurses’ withdrawal from the profession may be prevented by extending nurses’ social support at work, helping them to combine work with non-work, and improving the leadership quality of their supervisors. Originality/value – Job satisfaction and work-context factors explain additional variance in intention to leave nursing, beyond the effect of occupational commitment. Leadership quality is the strongest predictor of intention to leave nursing. Job satisfaction plays an intervening role in the relationship between work context and intention to leave nursing. Keywords Employee turnover, Job satisfaction, Leadership, Nurses Paper type Research paper In the light of current concerns about nurse shortages, nurses’ intention to leave the profession is a topic of great importance. Compared to other occupational groups, nurses tend to leave the profession at a much greater rate. At the same time, demographic changes have led to an aging nursing workforce, a decline in the number of graduates entering the profession, and an increased need for care as the “baby boomer” generation approaches retirement (North et al., 2005). As a consequence, most Western countries are facing serious nurse shortages (Aiken et al., 2002; Sjo ¨gren et al., 2004) which is associated with decreased standards of patient care (Newman et al., The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1362-0436.htm CDI 14,7 616 Received 13 July 2009 Revised 26 August 2009 Accepted 3 September 2009 Career Development International Vol. 14 No. 7, 2009 pp. 616-635 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1362-0436 DOI 10.1108/13620430911005681