Do I have enough money? An examination of the roles of income and income perceptions on nursing turnover intentions

Abstract

Economic stress is an understudied, but potentially critical, concern that deserves more attention in the literature because it has important implications for employees and organizations. The present study sought to bring researchers and practitioners\u27 attention to this area of research by examining the impact of income and income perceptions on turnover intentions. Very few published studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying the relationship between income and turnover intentions. As a novel contribution, the present study examined how perceived adequacy of current and future income each and simultaneously mediated the relationship between income and turnover intentions. Further, the study tested whether individuals\u27 economic dependency moderated the relationship between perceived income adequacy and turnover intentions. Using survey data collected from nurses, results indicated that perceived income adequacy for current needs, current wants, future needs and future wants each fully explained the relationship between household income and turnover intentions. Three-path mediations were also found significant when current perceptions and future expectations of income were tested simultaneously as mediators of the household income-turnover intentions relationship. Initial evidence was also found that subjective economic dependency moderated the relationship between perceived income adequacy for future needs and turnover intentions, where the effects were the strongest for nurses with low economic dependency. Results from this study are intended to provide meaningful information for organizations and practitioners in helping nurses reach financial readiness and financial well-being, and ultimately minimizing direct and indirect costs incurred from nurses\u27 turnover

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