Emotional Intelligence and Turnover Intentions among Ugandan Nurses: The Moderating Role of Workplace Stress

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interplay between emotional intelligence (EI) and turnover intentions (TOI) among Ugandan nurses, with a focus on the moderating role of workplace stress (WS). A correlational survey research design was utilized, employing a quantitative approach with a standard closed-ended self-administered questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 123 nurses. The data were entered into the computer using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 27 (IBM SPSS) and the moderating role was tested using PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2022) through model 1.
The results indicated that workplace moderates the relationship between emotional intelligence and turnover intentions. The results imply that stress weakens the positive impact of emotional intelligence on reducing turnover intentions which means that even emotionally intelligent nurses may consider leaving when stress levels are high. Therefore, employers and other people managers need to prioritize stress-reduction programs such as mindfulness training, adequate rest periods, and supportive supervision to allow nurses’ emotional intelligence to function effectively.