The importance of social exchange to nurses and nurse assistants: impact on retention factors

Aim The purpose of this study was to test the norm of reciprocity by examining relationships between perceived organisational support (POS), the quality of leader–member exchange (LMX) and psychological contract breach (PCB) and important nurse retention factors identified in the literature. Background A major cause of turnover among nurses is related to unsatisfying workplaces. Previous research, mainly outside the nursing setting, found that social exchange affects employees’ work‐related attitudes. Method A cross‐sectional survey was conducted on 217 nurses and nursing assistants to test and refine a model linking POS, LMX, PCB with job satisfaction, trust and turnover intentions. Results Hierarchical multiple linear regression revealed that POS, PCB and LMX explained significant variance in all three retention factors: job satisfaction (adjusted R² = 0.502), trust (adjusted R² = 0.462) and turnover intentions (adjusted R² = 0.196). POS and PCB predicted most strongly job satisfaction (P