Keele Research Repository

Aims and Objectives: To investigate whether internal and external violence are associated with turnover intentions among nurses during a period of extreme duress.

Background: Workplace violence can negatively impact upon mental and physical health, and turnover intentions. Research focusing on how dimensions of workplace violence, internal versus external, influence turnover intentions, and the factors that mitigate these effect is lacking.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of multi-item scales was used to collect data from 462 Iranian nurses. We employed path modelling and analyzed the data using SPSS and PROCESS macro. A STROBE checklist was used to report findings.

Results: Both dimensions, internal and external, of violence were positively associated with turnover intentions. Moreover, perceived invulnerability and organizational support moderates this association. When individuals perceive themselves as invulnerable and the organizational support as high internal violence is no longer indirectly related to turnover intentions via job satisfaction while external violence is indirectly and negatively related to intentions to quit.

Conclusions: Nurses who regard themselves as invulnerable might be motivated to quit when they experience workplace violence. However, they are motivated to stay on the job when they both perceive themselves as invulnerable and the organization as supporting.

Relevance to Clinical Practice: Organizations should re-consider their policies and approach towards workplace violence especially during extraordinary times of duress such as during pandemics.