Work stress and turnover intentions among hospital physicians: The mediating role of burnout and work satisfaction

Work stress has extremely significant consequences to the individual and to the organization (Barling, Kelloway, & Frone, 2005). This study examined the relationship between perceived work stress, burnout, satisfaction at work, and turnover intentions. We hypothesized that a positive relationship would be found between work stress and burnout, and negative relationships would be found between burnout and satisfaction, and between satisfaction and turnover intentions. The sample included 124 hospital physicians. As expected, all our hypotheses were corroborated. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) found that beyond the assumed direct relationships, burnout partially mediated between work stress and work satisfaction, and work satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between burnout and turnover intentions. The paper reviews the theoretical consequences and suggests ideas for future research.