The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study

Background: Concerns about the global nursing shortage highlight that, while increasing graduates is considered as essential, addressing retention issues is equally critical to mitigate the shortage effectively. Nurses frequently struggle to harmonize family life with their demanding profession in t...

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Main Authors: Jasperina Brouwer, Stéfanie André, Nienke Renting
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666142X25000281
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author Jasperina Brouwer
Stéfanie André
Nienke Renting
author_facet Jasperina Brouwer
Stéfanie André
Nienke Renting
author_sort Jasperina Brouwer
collection DOAJ
description Background: Concerns about the global nursing shortage highlight that, while increasing graduates is considered as essential, addressing retention issues is equally critical to mitigate the shortage effectively. Nurses frequently struggle to harmonize family life with their demanding profession in this predominantly female field. Finding a balance between home and job demands and resources may be crucial for staying in the profession. Objective: We aimed to obtain a better understanding of the relationships among home and job demands (parenthood, working hours, work pressure), personal resources (experience, need for autonomy, self-efficacy), contextual resources (work-life balance), and the intention to stay in the nursing profession. More specifically, we investigated how work-life balance, as a contextual resource mediated the complex interplay among home and job demands, personal resources, and the intention to stay. Design: We adopted a cross-sectional survey methodology. Setting(s): We focused on nursing professionals employed in healthcare institutions, encompassing hospitals, elderly care facilities, and home care institutions in the Netherlands. Participants: Survey respondents included 616 bedside nurses with either patient care responsibilities alone or combined with managerial responsibilities. Methods: We distributed a survey among nursing professionals in 2021. Path modeling was conducted using Mplus version 8.0. Results: The comprehensive model revealed that parenthood and the fulfilment of the need for autonomy were associated with increased energy levels, while the need for autonomy was associated with lower work pressure and higher intention to stay. Work pressure was negatively associated with work-life balance, whereas a satisfactory work-life balance was positively associated with the intention to stay. Energy was directly related to intention to stay, as well as indirectly through work-life balance. Work experience was negatively associated with the intention to stay. Controlling for gender, nurses identifying as female or non-binary experienced lower energy compared to their male counterparts. Conclusion: Work-life balance and the need for autonomy were positively associated with the intention to stay. Energy was positively associated with work-life balance and the intention to stay. Working experience was negatively associated with the intention to stay in the profession, suggesting that more experienced nurses may may see more alternatives after leaving the bedside profession. Tweetable abstract: Nurses may stay when they feel energized and experience more work-life balance. More autonomy is encouraging, whereas high work pressure discourages them. Let's support nursing needs. #Nursing
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spelling doaj-art-6a1de5232ecc485d9aa864709a2dfc562025-08-20T03:45:45ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Nursing Studies Advances2666-142X2025-06-01810031810.1016/j.ijnsa.2025.100318The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional studyJasperina Brouwer0Stéfanie André1Nienke Renting2University of Groningen, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department Educational Science, Grote Rozenstraat 3, 9712 TG Groningen, Netherlands; Corresponding author.Radboud University, Department of Public Administration, Nijmegen School of Management, & Radboud WORKLIFE consortium, Postbus 9108, 6500 HK NIJMEGEN, NetherlandsUniversity of Groningen, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Department Educational Science, Grote Rozenstraat 3, 9712 TG Groningen, NetherlandsBackground: Concerns about the global nursing shortage highlight that, while increasing graduates is considered as essential, addressing retention issues is equally critical to mitigate the shortage effectively. Nurses frequently struggle to harmonize family life with their demanding profession in this predominantly female field. Finding a balance between home and job demands and resources may be crucial for staying in the profession. Objective: We aimed to obtain a better understanding of the relationships among home and job demands (parenthood, working hours, work pressure), personal resources (experience, need for autonomy, self-efficacy), contextual resources (work-life balance), and the intention to stay in the nursing profession. More specifically, we investigated how work-life balance, as a contextual resource mediated the complex interplay among home and job demands, personal resources, and the intention to stay. Design: We adopted a cross-sectional survey methodology. Setting(s): We focused on nursing professionals employed in healthcare institutions, encompassing hospitals, elderly care facilities, and home care institutions in the Netherlands. Participants: Survey respondents included 616 bedside nurses with either patient care responsibilities alone or combined with managerial responsibilities. Methods: We distributed a survey among nursing professionals in 2021. Path modeling was conducted using Mplus version 8.0. Results: The comprehensive model revealed that parenthood and the fulfilment of the need for autonomy were associated with increased energy levels, while the need for autonomy was associated with lower work pressure and higher intention to stay. Work pressure was negatively associated with work-life balance, whereas a satisfactory work-life balance was positively associated with the intention to stay. Energy was directly related to intention to stay, as well as indirectly through work-life balance. Work experience was negatively associated with the intention to stay. Controlling for gender, nurses identifying as female or non-binary experienced lower energy compared to their male counterparts. Conclusion: Work-life balance and the need for autonomy were positively associated with the intention to stay. Energy was positively associated with work-life balance and the intention to stay. Working experience was negatively associated with the intention to stay in the profession, suggesting that more experienced nurses may may see more alternatives after leaving the bedside profession. Tweetable abstract: Nurses may stay when they feel energized and experience more work-life balance. More autonomy is encouraging, whereas high work pressure discourages them. Let's support nursing needs. #Nursinghttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666142X25000281Work pressureWork-life balanceEnergyTurnover intentionIntention to stayNursing
spellingShingle Jasperina Brouwer
Stéfanie André
Nienke Renting
The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study
International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances
Work pressure
Work-life balance
Energy
Turnover intention
Intention to stay
Nursing
title The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study
title_full The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study
title_fullStr The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study
title_short The interplay between home and job demands, resources, and the intention to stay in nursing: A cross-sectional study
title_sort interplay between home and job demands resources and the intention to stay in nursing a cross sectional study
topic Work pressure
Work-life balance
Energy
Turnover intention
Intention to stay
Nursing
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666142X25000281
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