Career Intent to Leave the Profession
HR & WorkReliability: alpha 0.853 sample items
About this scale
A short 4- to 6-item measure of intention to leave one's profession (not just one's employer). Distinct from organizational turnover intention because it taps occupational/profession-level withdrawal — important in nursing, teaching, and academia research.
Sample item(s)
“I often think about leaving this profession.”
“It is likely that I will leave this profession in the next year.”
“I plan to remain in this profession for the foreseeable future. (reverse)”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.85. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Pair with Mobley turnover intention to separate organization-leaving from profession-leaving.
Source & citation
Hayes, L. J., O'Brien-Pallas, L., Duffield, C., Shamian, J., Buchan, J., Hughes, F., Spence Laschinger, H. K., North, N., & Stone, P. W. (2006): Nurse turnover: A literature review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 237–263.
Hayes et al. (2006): Nurse turnover review (career intent items). IJNS, 43(2), 237–263.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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