A comparison of the importance of supervisor-nurse relationships, engagement, wellbeing, affective commitment and retention of private sector nurses

This paper examines the relationship between supervisor-nurse relationships, engagement, psychological wellbeing, affective commitment and turnover intentions for English and Australian using Social Exchange Theory (SET). This theory argues that there is value for the individuals who interact because over time a reciprocal relationship develops and delivers intangible and tangible outcomes such as resources and support, which benefit individuals and the organisational overall. Using SET, the theory argues that effective supervisor-nurse relationships engage nurses, which in turn, promote high levels of psychological wellbeing and affective commitment and in turn, low turnover intentions. Such conditions are ideal for ensuring the wellbeing of patients. This empirical paper reports findings from nurses working at 5 Australian hospitals and 15 English hospitals. Data was collected using a survey-based, self-report strategy. Regressions and MANOVA analysis are used to test the impact of supervisor-nurse relationship on firstly, nurses’ perception of engagement, wellbeing and affective commitment and in turn, turnover intentions