Abstract
Nurses are the stronghold of any healthcare institution and as such contribute to the well-being of humanity. A great responsibility rests upon the shoulders of nurses daily. Unfortunately, the responsibility they take on with so much grace has created stressful and challenging work environments. These challenges may have led to nurses’ turnover intentions in hospitals and leaving the profession as a whole. The Covid-19 pandemic was no easier for the healthcare industry and added to nurses’ challenges. However, the pandemic highlighted the importance of attracting and retaining nurses. It also showed the significance of having an engaged nursing workforce. Thus, the study aimed to establish the relationship between idiosyncratic deals (i-deals), work engagement and turnover intention of nurses. The study focused on these three types of i-deals – task, flexibility, and career i-deals – and their relationship with turnover intention and work engagement. It investigated which i-deals best predict turnover intention or work engagement.
A quantitative research approach was followed. A non-probability sampling method was selected, and a purposive sampling strategy employed. The sample consisted of 220 nurses (66 enrolled nurses, 21 enrolled nursing auxiliaries, and 120 registered nurses) working in three private hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa. Pre-established scales were used to collect data and were analysed using SPSS. Inferential statistics and regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The findings of the study revealed that i-deals did not predict turnover intention. However, there was a correlation found between task and flexibility i-deals with turnover intention, therefore suggesting that nurses negotiated for these types of i-deals to reduce their turnover intention. There was a correlation between the three types of i-deals (task, flexibility, and career) and work engagement. In this regard, however, only task and flexibility i-deals predicted work engagement. These may imply that, to some extent, the successful negotiation of i-deals will increase engagement levels among nurses. The concept of i-deals is a fairly new phenomenon within human resource practices. Thus, recommendations and suggestions for nurses, nursing managers, and HR managers are provided using a holistic model.