Structural Equation Modeling for Humor, Job Satisfaction, Job Stress and Intention to Turnover

Purpose: This study was done to identify the effects and relationships of humor, job satisfaction, job stress and intent to turnover for nurses and suggest a theoretical structural path diagram among the variables. Methods: Data were collected at 6 hospitals located in Seoul, and Gyeonggi Province, from June to September, 2010. Participants were 275 nurses. Data were analyzed using Amos 19.0 for Structural Equation Modeling. Results: Humor had significant effects on job satisfaction (β=.15, t=2.29, p=.022) and indirect effects on the intent to turnover in this model (X 2 =44.18, df=23, RMSEA=0.05, TLI=0.97). But humor did not affect job stress unlike results of previous studies (t=-.02, p=.771). Conclusion: Humor may not affect job stress under the very stressful conditions of the health care environment. The model showed the effect of humor contributed to increases in job satisfaction but did not decrease job stress. Higher levels of job satisfaction could decrease the intent to turnover. Consequently, humor would be helpful in increasing job satisfaction to diminish nurse turnover. Further studies are suggested to investigate causal relationships among humor, burnout, and other emotional and organizational variables.