Support me, and I will stay: Investigating the psychological mechanisms behind nurses’ retention

Persistent nurse shortages and high turnover threaten the effectiveness of healthcare systems, particularly in resource-constrained countries like Indonesia. Drawing on Organizational Support Theory and the Theory of Work Adjustment, this study examines how perceived organizational support relates to nurses' intention to stay through two psychological mechanisms: person–job fit and work meaningfulness. Data were collected from 161 registered nurses at one of Indonesia's largest public hospitals via a cross-sectional online survey. Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4.1, assessing both explanatory and predictive power. The results indicate that perceived organizational support is not directly associated with intention to stay; instead, its connection is fully mediated by person–job fit and work meaningfulness. These findings underscore the vital role of psychological alignment and purpose in linking organizational support to retention. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first nursing study to empirically demonstrate the serial mediation of person–job fit and work meaningfulness in this context, extending retention research beyond reciprocity-based perspective and offering a comprehensive framework with strong predictive relevance for evidence-based human resource strategies.