The research team, led by Norkiah Arsat of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, set out to untangle a question that has puzzled nursing scientists for years: which specific dimensions of the nursing work environment are actually associated with emotional intelligence? Earlier studies had suggested a general link between workplace conditions and emotional competence, but evidence remained thin, particularly in Southeast Asian public healthcare systems where staffing pressures, hierarchical structures, and resource constraints can differ sharply from Western settings. Sabah, with its geographically dispersed hospitals and clinics serving urban and rural communities alike, offered an ideal natural laboratory for probing these relationships at scale.

Methodologically, the study was ambitious. The researchers distributed 4,000 questionnaires to registered nurses across Sabah’s public healthcare facilities, and after careful data screening, 3,359 responses were retained for analysis, an unusually large sample for nursing work environment research. Two validated instruments anchored the survey: the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, which breaks the workplace down into five distinct dimensions, and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form, which captures emotional intelligence across multiple facets including emotional skills, social skills, self-control, and well-being. Rather than treating these constructs as single blobs, the team examined how each workplace dimension related to each emotional intelligence dimension, a granularity that most previous cross-sectional surveys lacked.

To analyze the resulting data, the researchers turned to Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling, or PLS-SEM, a statistical technique increasingly favored in health services research for its ability to test complex networks of relationships between latent constructs, variables that cannot be directly measured but are inferred from multiple survey items. PLS-SEM estimates paths linking predictors to outcomes while accounting for measurement error, and the team supplemented it with checks for reliability, convergent validity through average variance extracted, and composite reliability scores. They also screened for common method variance, the statistical distortion that can arise when all data come from the same self-report instrument, and examined variance inflation factors to rule out problematic multicollinearity among the five workplace dimensions.

The headline finding concerns collegial nurse-physician relations. This dimension, reflecting the quality of collaboration and mutual respect between nurses and doctors, was positively associated with all three global measures of emotional intelligence: emotional skills, social skills, and overall emotional intelligence. In other words, nurses who reported genuinely collaborative relationships with physicians tended to score higher on the emotional competencies that matter most at the bedside. The association was modest in magnitude, the authors caution, but it was consistent across every emotional intelligence outcome tested, making nurse-physician relations the single most broadly connected workplace factor in the entire model.

Two further dimensions showed meaningful positive associations. Nursing foundations for quality care, which captures whether the workplace prioritizes high standards, evidence-based practice, and a culture of excellence in nursing fundamentals, was linked to stronger social skills and higher global emotional intelligence. Similarly, nurse participation in hospital affairs, the degree to which nurses feel their voices count in institutional decision-making, was also positively associated with social skills and global emotional intelligence. Meanwhile, nurse manager ability, leadership and support, reflecting the competence and backing provided by nursing supervisors, was associated with stronger emotional skills and higher global emotional intelligence. Taken together, these findings sketch a coherent picture: workplaces that emphasize quality, inclusion, and supportive leadership tend to be populated by nurses with stronger emotional competencies.

Then came the surprise. Staffing and resource adequacy, the dimension measuring whether there are enough nurses and sufficient resources to do the job properly, showed significant negative associations with every dimension of emotional intelligence. At first glance this seems counterintuitive, since adequate staffing is universally regarded as a cornerstone of good nursing environments. The authors themselves flag the anomaly: supplementary analyses suggested the result may reflect a statistical suppression effect, a phenomenon in which the relationship between two variables is masked or reversed by the influence of a third variable correlated with both. In plain terms, the apparent negative link may be an artifact of the complex intercorrelations among the five workplace dimensions rather than a genuine signal that better-staffed hospitals produce less emotionally intelligent nurses. The researchers urge readers to interpret this particular finding with caution, a refreshingly honest caveat in an era of overconfident headlines.

The study’s strengths and limitations deserve attention. On the plus side, the sheer sample size of 3,359 nurses, the use of validated instruments, the rigorous PLS-SEM framework with cross-validated redundancy checks, and the granular dimension-by-dimension analysis all lend the findings considerable weight. Ethical oversight was thorough, with approval from Malaysia’s Medical Research and Ethics Committee, the Clinical Research Centre, the National Medical Research Register, and the Sabah State Health Director, and written informed consent obtained from every participant. On the other hand, the cross-sectional design means the data capture a single moment in time, so the direction of causality remains unknown. It is entirely plausible that emotionally intelligent nurses perceive their work environments more favorably, rather than, or in addition to, favorable environments cultivating emotional intelligence. The authors also note that the observed associations were generally modest, and they call for longitudinal and post-pandemic studies to clarify both the practical significance and the stability of these relationships, particularly given how profoundly COVID-19 reshaped nursing workloads and morale worldwide.

Why should anyone outside nursing research care? Because emotional intelligence in nurses is not a soft luxury; it is tied to professional functioning, communication quality, and psychological well-being, all of which ripple outward to patient safety and staff retention. If workplace factors such as collaborative nurse-physician relations, genuine participation in hospital affairs, quality-oriented practice cultures, and supportive leadership are indeed associated with stronger emotional competencies, then hospital administrators have concrete, actionable levers to pull. Investing in interdisciplinary teamwork training, creating formal channels for nurse input into policy, and developing nurse managers’ leadership skills may do more than improve job satisfaction; they may help cultivate the emotional infrastructure on which compassionate care depends. Conversely, the study’s cautious stance on staffing suggests that simply adding resources without attending to relational and organizational culture may not deliver the emotional benefits that healthcare systems desperately need.

The Sabah study also carries broader significance for global health workforce research. Most of what is known about nursing work environments and emotional intelligence comes from North America, Europe, and Australia, and findings do not always travel cleanly across cultural and structural contexts. Malaysian public healthcare operates under different hierarchies, staffing models, and professional norms, and demonstrating that similar associations hold in Sabah strengthens the case that the relationship between workplace climate and emotional competence is a general phenomenon rather than a Western artifact. Funded by Universiti Malaysia Sabah’s New Lecturer Grant, the study exemplifies the growing capacity of regional institutions to produce large-scale, methodologically sophisticated evidence about their own health systems. As health systems everywhere grapple with nurse burnout and workforce attrition, the message from Malaysian Borneo is clear and quietly hopeful: the emotional lives of nurses are not fixed traits, and the environments hospitals build around them may matter far more than previously appreciated, provided future longitudinal research confirms which levers truly move the needle.

Subject of Research: Associations between dimensions of the nursing work environment and emotional intelligence among registered nurses in Sabah, Malaysia

Article Title: Associations between the nursing work environment and emotional intelligence among nurses in Sabah, Malaysia

Article References: Arsat, N., Dasan, N., Sator, P., Darsin Singh, S. K., Thomas, D. C., Chong, L. T., Chew-Abdullah, A., Nain, R. A., & Sawatan, W. (2026). Associations between the nursing work environment and emotional intelligence among nurses in Sabah, Malaysia. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05316-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05316-1

Keywords: nursing, emotional intelligence, work environment, Malaysia, Sabah, PLS-SEM, nurse-physician relations, nursing management, BMC Nursing, cross-sectional study, healthcare workforce, nurse well-being

The research team, led by Maha Sanat Alreshidi of the University of Hail and colleagues from several Saudi universities, set out to test a deceptively simple question: does a nurse’s commitment to their organization protect against the intention to quit, and how do perceptions of the work environment shape that decision? Turnover intention is widely used in nursing research as a proxy for actual attrition, because the psychological act of deciding to leave typically precedes the resignation itself. By identifying which factors weaken that intention, administrators can intervene before nurses walk out the door, a window that matters enormously in high-risk units where a single departure can destabilize an entire team.

The study focused on registered nurses employed in five public hospitals in Hail City, in northern Saudi Arabia. The sample was deliberately weighted toward high-pressure clinical settings: roughly a third of respondents worked in emergency departments and nearly a fifth in acute care units, environments the authors identify as being at particularly high risk for both turnover and the patient safety consequences that follow it. Data were collected between June and July 2025 through an electronic survey administered on a secure, encrypted website, allowing nurses across all clinical areas to participate. The study received ethics approval from the University of Hail’s institutional review board and was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, with informed consent obtained from all participants.

Methodologically, the researchers combined descriptive statistics with Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple regression modeling. Correlation analysis allowed them to measure the strength and direction of associations between perceived work environment, organizational commitment, and turnover intention. Multiple regression then went a step further, testing whether the two predictor variables explained a meaningful share of the variance in turnover intention when considered together, and which of them carried independent predictive weight. This distinction matters: two variables can both correlate with an outcome, yet only one may contribute uniquely once their overlap with the other is statistically accounted for.

The correlational results were striking. Perceived work environment correlated positively and strongly with organizational commitment, with a Pearson’s r of 0.58, a value that in behavioral research is generally considered a substantial association. Both variables correlated negatively with turnover intention, meaning that nurses who viewed their environment more favorably and felt more committed to their organizations were less likely to say they intended to leave. Taken at face value, this pattern seems to confirm the intuitive story: better workplaces produce happier, more loyal nurses who stay.

But the regression analysis complicated that narrative. Together, perceived work environment and organizational commitment explained approximately 10.9 percent of the variance in turnover intention, a statistically significant result with an F statistic of 22.08 across 2 and 361 degrees of freedom and a p value below 0.001. Yet when the two predictors competed within the same model, only organizational commitment emerged as a statistically significant independent predictor, with a standardized beta of -0.245 and p below 0.001. The perceived work environment fell just short of significance, with a beta of -0.12 and a p value of 0.051, hovering at the conventional threshold. In practical terms, once the researchers controlled for how committed nurses felt to their organizations, the perceived quality of the work environment added little unique predictive power.

The authors interpret this as evidence that organizational commitment functions as a modifiable protective factor, and crucially, one that sits under the direct control of hospital administrators. Commitment, in the organizational psychology literature, is generally understood as a psychological state that binds an employee to an institution, encompassing emotional attachment, perceived obligation, and awareness of the costs of leaving. Unlike personality traits or demographic characteristics, it can be strengthened through management practices: involving nurses in decision-making, recognizing their contributions, providing professional development, and demonstrating that the institution values their wellbeing. The Hail findings suggest that investments in these areas may yield retention dividends that physical improvements alone cannot match.

The study’s most provocative implication is that improving the work environment may have limited effectiveness if organizational commitment is not developed alongside it. This does not mean the work environment is irrelevant; its strong correlation with commitment suggests the two are intertwined, and a poor environment likely erodes commitment over time. Rather, the point is one of causal hierarchy and intervention design: policies that upgrade conditions without addressing the relational and psychological bond between nurse and institution may be building on sand. A nurse can work in a well-equipped, adequately staffed unit and still leave if they feel no loyalty to the organization behind it, while a deeply committed nurse may tolerate imperfect conditions because their identity and obligations are tied to the institution.

Translating these findings into policy, the authors recommend developing national nursing workforce retention standards that require the integration of commitment measures into hospital performance frameworks. In practice, this would mean hospitals routinely measuring organizational commitment the way they measure infection rates or patient satisfaction, treating it as a key performance indicator of workforce health. They also call for early warning systems in risk management: systematic identification of turnover risk based on individual nurses’ commitment levels, paired with targeted interventions for those in high-risk units such as emergency departments and acute care. Such systems would essentially function as predictive dashboards, flagging units or individuals where commitment has dropped below a threshold before resignations cascade.

The study has limitations worth noting. It captured turnover intention rather than actual resignations, and its cross-sectional design, with data collected over a single two-month window, cannot establish whether low commitment causes nurses to leave or whether nurses who have already decided to go simply report lower commitment. The sample, drawn from public hospitals in one Saudi city, may not generalize to private healthcare systems or other countries, and the model’s 10.9 percent of explained variance makes clear that most of what drives turnover intention lies outside these two variables, in factors such as pay, family circumstances, career opportunities, and burnout that the study did not measure. Still, the core message is actionable and timely. As health systems worldwide compete for a finite pool of nurses, the Hail results argue that retention is not merely a matter of better conditions but of building institutions that nurses genuinely want to belong to, and that this bond, once measured and managed, may be the most powerful retention tool an administrator possesses.

Subject of Research: The relationship between organizational commitment, perceived work environment, and turnover intention among hospital nurses in Saudi Arabia

Article Title: Organizational commitment as a correlate of turnover intention among nurses: implications for workforce retention and policy

Article References: Alreshidi, M. S., Alotni, M. A., Sankarapandian, C., Alamri, A. A., Gonzales, A., Gutierrez, J., Alatawi, N. A. H., Alasmari, A. A., Alharbi, A. A., Alreshidi, A. N., Thagam, M. M. N., Alrashidi, N. A., & Dominguez, A. J. (2026). Organizational commitment as a correlate of turnover intention among nurses: implications for workforce retention and policy. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05413-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05413-1

Keywords: nurse retention, turnover intention, organizational commitment, work environment, Saudi Arabia, public hospitals, nursing workforce, patient safety, healthcare policy, workforce risk management, BMC Nursing, nursing research

The research team, led by Suzanne Johanson Sturesson of the University of Gothenburg, set out to investigate what women in menopause experience as supporting and hindering factors in their work environment. The motivation is grounded in stark statistics. At the end of 2024, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency reported 201,462 ongoing cases of sickness benefit, and women constituted 65 percent of them. Within that cohort, 28 percent were aged between 50 and 59, roughly the age at which menopause typically arrives in western countries, where the average age of the transition is 50 to 51 years. The predominant reasons for sick leave were psychiatric diagnoses, including fatigue syndrome and depression, while musculoskeletal diagnoses were notably more prevalent among those aged 50 to 59.

Although women in menopause can end up on sick leave because of severe symptoms, reliable statistics on how many absences are actually driven by menopause are difficult to obtain, since the same symptoms can stem from other causes. What is well established is the dose-response relationship: research shows a negative correlation between the severity of menopausal symptoms and work ability, meaning that as symptoms intensify, the capacity to work declines and the risk of sick leave rises. Studies have also found that up to one in four women report severe menopausal symptoms, and that symptoms negatively influence women’s self-rated productivity. Some women respond by temporarily reducing their working hours, even while worrying about the consequences for their careers. Others practice presenteeism—working despite diminished capacity—which carries substantial risks, including long-term impairments in work ability.

To capture the lived experience behind these numbers, the researchers used a qualitative design with an inductive approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with six women aged between 46 and 58 who were active in the Swedish labour market with employment rates of at least 50 percent and who reported at least one self-perceived symptom linked to menopause. Participants were recruited through targeted sampling from a closed Facebook forum called Stark genom klimakteriet—Strong through menopause—with roughly 13,000 members. Four of the six women were undergoing menopausal hormone therapy at the time. Five worked full-time and one part-time, and their workplaces spanned occupational health, primary health care, industry, state-level academic activities and municipal administration. Five interviews took place digitally and one physically, each lasting between 39 and 79 minutes, and the transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Graneheim and Lundman.

The analysis yielded two main categories: the necessity for enhanced awareness and education regarding menopause, and adaptations and recovery opportunities in the work environment. The first category describes how a general lack of knowledge about menopause ripples through organisations, social spaces and individuals. Several informants initially lacked knowledge about menopause altogether, which led to unrecognised symptoms and increased suffering, including sick leave due to exhaustion and depression. Only through personal insight and their own research did they come to understand that their symptoms were menopause-related, and only after making changes or starting hormone therapy were they able to resume working. One informant described the anxiety plainly: feeling insecure about both her body and her mind created stress when she feared she might not be able to cope with her job.

The study also documented a heavy stigma. Several informants felt that menopause was treated as something that should simply pass by unmentioned, and they found it uncomfortable and embarrassing to raise the topic with human resources or their managers. Being treated with understanding, it turned out, was largely a matter of chance—hinging on whether managers happened to have personal experience of menopause. One participant described the relief of having a boss in the same situation, which removed stress and pressure. Where workplaces lacked forums for disseminating information about health issues, women were forced to advocate for changes themselves, a burden that was particularly heavy during periods of reduced energy. Not being believed by a manager when describing symptoms left informants feeling diminished.

The second main category mapped the concrete adjustments that made work sustainable. Flexibility emerged as central: the ability to take a break when needed, visit the toilet, regulate emotions, interrupt work for shorter rests, or work at times of day when they felt alert. Organisations that failed to offer this flexibility were perceived as obstacles. The physical environment cut both ways. Too few toilets, dark spaces, workplaces that increased sedentary time, poor ergonomics and poor seating were hindrances, while bright light, height-adjustable desks, exercise bikes and standing mats supported the increased need to move. Cognitive symptoms—mental fatigue and difficulty focusing—made stimulus-heavy open offices punishing. One informant recounted how, with a brain exhausted by concentration difficulties, she could never have coped with twenty people talking, drawers banging and phones ringing all at once; a separate or closed room was perceived as a decisive support.

Recovery opportunities proved equally important. Mindfulness and short breaks in peace and quiet helped informants balance mood during stress attacks and worrying, but the lack of a physical place for such recovery was described as an obstacle. Working from home was repeatedly praised as a valuable adjustment: it made necessary breaks easier, increased sleep by removing commutes, and, as one informant noted, made work more efficient. The social environment, meanwhile, functioned as a powerful buffer. Safe relationships with close colleagues allowed women to be open about how they felt, which created security, improved well-being and even increased performance. One informant described how a colleague’s openness about her own menopausal symptoms made it easier for everyone in the group to admit being exhausted after a bad night. Conversely, the absence of an open atmosphere left women feeling alone, which made them feel worse than their symptoms alone warranted.

The authors interpret these findings through the Model of Human Occupation, which explains how individuals generate and modify actions through interactions with their social, institutional and physical environments, and through the concept of occupational adaptation—modifying one’s performance or environment when abilities change. Resilience, in this framing, rests on three components: knowledge of the change, skills to solve the problems that arise, and surrounding support. All three appeared in the data. The researchers also frame the results in terms of menopausal health literacy, arguing that the suffering described by participants could have been reduced had they received support to understand their condition earlier. Because health literacy depends on context, the authors argue it is a societal issue—not merely an individual or healthcare concern but essential in the work environment as well.

The study’s conclusions carry practical weight for employers. Individual adaptation is crucial because the impact of the work environment is personalised, but awareness and knowledge about menopause, together with an open and flexible organisational culture, facilitate the necessary adjustments. Recognising the social environment as a supportive factor is essential, and occupational therapy interventions that consider the individual in relation to the workplace can contribute to sustainable change. The authors emphasise a preventive approach: since menopause is a transition rather than an illness, workplace adjustments should aim to stop symptoms from developing into ill-health and future sick leave. The researchers acknowledge limitations, including the small sample of six informants, recruitment through a forum whose members may have had more severe symptoms, and a sample dominated by office-based work, which limits transferability. They call for further research into menopausal women’s experiences in welfare and service professions, and into the incentives and obstacles employers face in implementing the changes women say they need. With women making up nearly two-thirds of Sweden’s ongoing sickness cases, the message from this study is difficult to ignore: the work environment is not a backdrop to menopause—it is an active force in determining whether women in midlife stay well and stay working.

Subject of Research: The impact of the work environment on work ability in women experiencing menopause

Article Title: Women’s experience of the impact of work environment during menopause – A qualitative interview study

Article References: Johanson Sturesson, S., Löfgren Bergérus, M., Arvidsson, L., & Andersson, C. (2025). Women’s experience of the impact of work environment during menopause – A qualitative interview study. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 32(1), Article 2519241. https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2025.2519241

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1080/11038128.2025.2519241

Keywords: menopause, work environment, occupational health, women's health, qualitative research, work ability, workplace adaptation, occupational therapy, health literacy, stigma, organisational culture, Sweden

The researchers proposed a moderated mediation model to test their hypotheses. In this model, affective organizational commitment is positioned as a mediator between the work environment and employee retention. Additionally, the study investigates the moderating roles of two distinct leadership styles: transformational leadership and transactional leadership. This approach allows for a nuanced analysis of how different leadership behaviors can either enhance or diminish the effect of the work environment on employee commitment and, subsequently, retention.

To gather data, the study surveyed 410 public-sector employees in Uganda. The participants were adults who provided informed consent for their participation in the survey-based research. The data collection process was designed to ensure confidentiality and anonymity, adhering to ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and national guidelines from the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. The study was reviewed and cleared by the Department of Management at SRM University AP, which deemed it minimal-risk research given its non-invasive nature.

The analysis of the collected data was performed using covariance-based structural equation modeling with SPSS-AMOS software. This statistical method is well-suited for testing complex relationships involving multiple variables, including mediation and moderation effects. The results indicated a positive relationship between the work environment and both affective organizational commitment and employee retention. This suggests that a supportive and well-structured work environment contributes to employees feeling emotionally attached to their organization, which in turn increases their likelihood of staying.

Furthermore, the findings confirmed that organizational commitment serves as a significant mediator in the relationship between the work environment and employee retention. This means that the work environment does not just directly influence retention but also does so indirectly by fostering a sense of commitment among employees. The study highlights the importance of understanding the psychological mechanisms through which environmental factors affect retention outcomes, providing a more comprehensive view than a direct correlation alone would offer.

The role of leadership styles in this dynamic was also examined. The study found that transformational leadership positively moderates the influence of the work environment on organizational commitment. Transformational leaders, who inspire and motivate employees through vision and personal development, appear to amplify the positive effects of a good work environment on employee commitment. This suggests that when the work environment is strong, the presence of transformational leadership further strengthens the employees’ emotional bond with the organization.

In contrast, the study observed a negative moderation effect of transactional leadership on the relationship between the work environment and organizational commitment. Transactional leadership, which focuses on exchanges between leader and follower, such as rewards for performance, was found to weaken the positive impact of the work environment on commitment. This finding implies that in the context of Uganda’s public sector, a purely transactional approach may not be as effective in fostering deep organizational commitment, even when the work environment is favorable.

The implications of these findings for public sector management in Uganda are significant. The study suggests that improving employee retention requires a multifaceted approach that addresses both the structural aspects of the work environment and the quality of leadership. Organizations should strive to create supportive work conditions while also cultivating leadership styles that inspire and engage employees. The negative moderation by transactional leadership serves as a cautionary note, indicating that relying solely on reward-based management strategies may not be sufficient to build strong organizational commitment.

It is important to note that the study is based on a cross-sectional survey design, which limits the ability to establish causal relationships. While the structural equation modeling provides strong evidence for the proposed relationships, longitudinal studies would be needed to confirm the direction of causality and the long-term stability of these effects. Additionally, the study focuses specifically on the public sector in Uganda, so the generalizability of the findings to other sectors or countries may be limited. Future research could explore these relationships in different contexts to validate the robustness of the model.

Despite these limitations, the study offers valuable insights for policymakers and managers in the public sector. By understanding how leadership styles and work environment interact to influence employee retention, organizations can develop more effective strategies for retaining talent. The emphasis on affective organizational commitment as a key mediator underscores the importance of fostering a sense of belonging and emotional connection among employees. As public sector organizations continue to face challenges in resource-constrained settings, these findings provide a evidence-based framework for improving retention practices and enhancing organizational performance.

Subject of Research: Psychology

Article Title: The effects of leadership styles and work environment on employee retention in Uganda’s public sector through organizational commitment

Article References: Ocema, D., & Kamesh, A. V. S. (2026). The effects of leadership styles and work environment on employee retention in Uganda’s public sector through organizational commitment. Discover Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-026-00876-4

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44202-026-00876-4

Keywords: Employee Retention, Public Sector, Leadership Styles, Organizational Commitment, Uganda, Work Environment, effects, leadership, styles, work, environment, employee