Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2011

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department (Legacy)

College of Education and Human Development

Committee Chair

Petrosko, Joseph M., 1947-

Author's Keywords

Trust in leader; Job satisfaction; Intent to leave; Trust; Turnover

Subject

Nurses--Job satisfaction; Labor turnover; Nurse administrators; Nurses--Attitudes

Abstract

Three research questions made up the focus of the study. First, after controlling for demographic variables of age, gender, and tenure in organization, to what extent does trust in leader (nurse manager) relate to job satisfaction? Second, after controlling for demographic variables of age, gender, and tenure in organization, to what extent does trust in leader (nurse manager) and job satisfaction relate to intent to leave present job? Finally, are the effects of trust in leader (nurse manager) on intent to leave present job all direct effects, or are some or all of the effects indirect through the variable of job satisfaction? For research question 1, results indicated, for the most part, that there was a significant positive association between trust in leader and job satisfaction controlling for demographic variables. The results suggest that the perception of trust in one's immediate leader does influence job satisfaction and vice versa. The results for the second research question suggest that after controlling for the demographic variables of age, gender, and years in organization, trust in leader and job satisfaction both influence intent to leave present job. The final research question addressed whether job satisfaction mediated the influence of trust in leader on intent to leave present job, or if the influence of trust in leader was a direct effect. Analysis demonstrated, for the most part, that trust in leader had a direct effect on intent to leave present job, but also an indirect effect through the mediation of job satisfaction. When controlling for job satisfaction, trust in leader had a significant direct effect on intent to leave present job. When controlling for trust in leader, job satisfaction had a significant direct effect on intent to leave present job. When controlling for each other, trust in leader came out as a stronger predictor variable than job satisfaction on intent to leave present job. When controlling for the three demographic variables, the relationships between the three key variables were similar as well. The most interesting and significant finding of this research concerned the findings related to the third research question. Those findings suggested that trust in leader may influence intent to leave present job more than job satisfaction. While there was a mediating effect on trust in nurse manager and intent to leave present job via job satisfaction, there was an even stronger direct effect of trust in nurse manager on intent to leave present job while controlling for job satisfaction. This research reinforces findings from previous research that job satisfaction influences intent to leave present job. However, this research introduces trust in leader as an important variable to study with regard to intent to leave and turnover literature. The implications for Human Resource Development could be profound. Hiring, training, performance evaluation and leadership development should include trust in leader as an important measure and outcome for its practice.

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