"Look before you leap": comparing the turnover intention of nurses as public servants and private employees

PurposeIn recent decades, human resource management (HRM) in health organizations has faced several problems associated with employees' efficiency and happiness, which has been particularly exacerbated after the pandemic crisis. In this scenario, this study seeks to analyze nurses' turnover intention by comparing Portuguese public and private healthcare organizations. As determining factors, transformational leadership, perceived organizational support and organizational commitment were considered.Design/methodology/approachA survey was digitally applied to 277 nurses from Portuguese public and private healthcare organizations.FindingsResults suggested that there are differences in nurses' turnover intentions: there is a greater likelihood of nurses in the private sector planning to leave the healthcare organizations the nurses work for when compared to public hospital nurses. Furthermore, nurses in public hospitals perceive lower levels of transformational leadership, organizational support and organizational commitment than those in the private sector. The underlying cause as to the intention of leaving the public sector resides in normative commitment. On the other hand, lower affective commitment explains the intention to abandon the private sector.Practical implicationsThis study is relevant for human resource managers and administrators in public and private hospitals since it enables a diagnosis of the situation, as well as a definition of the most appropriate policies for each of the sectors as a strategy to attract and retain health professionals.Originality/valueThis study is significant as the study provides a better understanding of the reasons which lead nurses to consider leaving the organization where the nurses work and the difference between nursing professionals in public and private hospitals.