Leadership's Impact in Turnover and Career Abandonment Intention: The Azorean Hospital Nurses Case

Abstract

The authors aimed to identify nurse managers' leadership behaviors and determine if they had a direct impact on turnover or career abandonment intention among nurses. This descriptive and inferential study was conducted in two public hospitals in Azores (Portugal). The sample consisted of 266 individuals (22 head nurses and 244 staff nurses). Data were collected during May 2010. The most expressive leadership styles were S(2) (persuading) and S(3) (sharing). Nurse retention seems easier when dealing with profile S(2)-S(3) or effective adaptability. This study brings light to a severe problem of nurse retention in Portugal.