Mediating Effect of Employee Performance on the Relationship Between Emotional Labour and Intent to Leave Among Nurses

In this study, it was aimed to examine the effect of nurses’ emotional labor levels on their intention to leave and to determine whether employee performance plays a mediating role in this relationship. The study is of descriptive cross-sectional type, which was conducted through a questionnaire on nurses. The surface acting has positive effect on the intent to leave among nurses, whereas deep acting has negative effect; employee performance has partial mediating role on the relationship between the surface acting and intent to leave, and the relationship between deep acting and intent to leave. The study is considered to provide significant tips in the identification of nurses with higher risk to leave the work, and in deciding managerial interventions that would be realised against such circumstances. It is suggested that it may be beneficial for nurse managers to organise training in their units, to evaluate the performance of nurses at regular intervals and thus to determine the reason for the increase and decrease, to plan activities that will reduce emotional burden.