HR Policies, Job Satisfaction, Attrition and Retention among Nursing Staff in Indian Private Hospitals

This study examines the relationship between human resource (HR) policies, job satisfaction, attrition and retention among nursing staff employed in Indian private hospitals with more than 200 beds. Using a quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional design, primary data were collected from 405 nursing professionals through a structured questionnaire measuring four constructs on a five-point Likert scale. Data were analysed in IBM SPSS using descriptive statistics, reliability and normality assessment, cross-tabulation, chi-square testing, one-way ANOVA, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. The four scales demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.836–0.905). Nursing staff reported a moderate but generally positive level of job satisfaction (M = 3.335, SD = 0.660), with the highest satisfaction observed for supervisor–colleague relationships and the lowest for workload and scheduling. EFA reduced the nine attrition items to three interpretable dimensions—workload and occupational strain, organisational and career dissatisfaction, and turnover intention and external opportunities—explaining 70.84% of the variance. Pearson correlation revealed a significant negative relationship between job satisfaction and attrition (r = −0.557, p < 0.001), and regression showed that HR policies significantly predicted job satisfaction (β = 0.624, R² = 0.389, p < 0.001). The findings indicate that fair, transparent and supportive HR policies enhance satisfaction and reduce turnover intention, and that department- and shift-specific working conditions matter more than personal demographics. Implications for hospital management are discussed.