A study of the relationship between job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intention among hospital employees

The purpose of this descriptive, co-relational and cross-sectional study was to gain a better understanding of the relationships between job satisfaction and organizational commitment of employees, and their impact on turnover intention at Isfahan Hospitals, Isfahan, Iran, in 2005. Data were collected by the distribution of two questionnaires among 629 employees of these hospitals through a stratified random sampling method. The results of the paper indicate that hospital employees are moderately satisfied with their jobs and committed to their organization. Employees' job satisfaction and organizational commitment were closely inter-related and correlated with turnover intention (P < 0.001). The positive correlation between the two was expected, but there was also unexpected correlation with turnover intention. This may be due to external factors, such as job market conditions, which may influence perceived opportunities for career advancement elsewhere. The impact of such external factors is outside the scope of this study, but will have to be investigated in further research. As job satisfaction and organizational commitment have strong correlation with turnover, it is very important to reinforce them by applying the right human resource policies.