| Abstract: | Theoretical framework: In their daily work, healthecare workers face high workloads, responsibilities, and expectations, which often lead to fatigue, burnout, and reduced job satisfaction. Such factors have a significant impact on absenteeism and on individuals' decisions to leave the organization. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between workload, stress, absenteeism, and turnover, and to determine how organizational factors influence nursing managers' decisions regarding attendance and continued employment in the organization.
Methodology: The study was based on a qualitative research approach and descriptive method, and data were obtained through a systematic review of professional and scientific literature. Using exclusion criteria, we included the PubMed, COBISS, DKUM, Google učenjak, and SpringerLink databases in our review. We included articles published between 2015 and 2025. Another criterion for inclusion was free access to the full text of the articles and the use of key terms: absenteeism, staff turnover, stress, nursing leaders to search for hits. The search, analysis, and processing of the selected literature took place in May 2025. We included 15 items of literature from the total set in the final analysis.
Results: The results of the literature show that absenteeism and turnover among nurses are the result of a combination of work-related, individual, and organizational factors. Key factors include demanding schedules, long working hours, overload, psychological stress, conflicts, and a lack of support and appropriate personnel policies. Individual factors include personal health, family responsibilities, and work-life balance. High occupational stress and burnout increase absenteeism and intention to leave, which negatively affects the quality of patient care. Stress reduction programs, training, management support, emotional intelligence development, and transformational leadership styles have been shown to be effective in reducing absenteeism, turnover, and improving employee satisfaction.
Discussion: Based on the findings, we can conclude that absenteeism, turnover, and stress in nursing are interrelated and have a significant impact on employees and nursing managers. The main causes of absenteeism and job turnover are high workloads, psychological stress, conflicts, staff shortages, inadequate management, and low job satisfaction. The consequences of these phenomena for managers include greater organisational burdens, higher responsibility for the team, greater stress and the risk of burnout. Research emphasizes that transformational leadership, employee support, and appropriate work organization reduce stress, absenteeism, and turnover while increasing satisfaction, commitment, and quality of healthcare, ensuring a more stable and effective work environment. |
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