The analysis of demographic and work life variables which affect the occupational commitment of nurses

Purpose - It is very important for health institutions to develop the occupational commitment of their nurses. While the occupational commitments of the nurses develop during their education, they also change according to certain variables during their work life. In order to employ nurses who are more committed to their occupation, it is essential to know the effects of these variables on occupational commitment. The purpose of this paper is to exhibit and test a model that will display the correlation between demographic, work life and family life variables and occupational commitment. Design/methodology/approach - The research was conducted with the participation of 355 nurses employed in seven state hospitals with 500 or more bed capacity and three medical faculties under the administration of Ankara Ministry of Health, using the proportional distribution method in stratified sampling. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis. Findings - The results of the analysis suggest that there is a relationship between the nurses' professional commitment and age, education, parental status, tenure and working hours scheme. Although the previous studies generally revealed a positive relationship between professional commitment and age and tenure, the relationship found out in this study is a negative one. Similarly, although a negative relationship was presented between professional commitment and parental status and working hours scheme, the relationship revealed in this study is a positive one. Further, unlike the previous studies, this study found out no relationship between the nurses' professional commitment and weekly working time. Originality/value - This study is an original study, having been applied to a different sample in a different cultural environment. The authors sincerely believe that the results of the study will be beneficial to the scientific world.