Abstract:
The working environment has undergone dramatic changes due to COVID-19. Quiet
quitting is a phenomenon observed under the general revision of employment
conditions that has been taking place in recent years. It reflects the conscious decision
of the employee to limit the effort they put into their work, which has affected the
healthcare sector, resulted increased the rates of nurses’ turnover intention. The quiet
quitting process, starts with a decrease in the psychological engagement of employees
who are lost in the culture of hustle and bustle, understanding that employees play a
major role in achieving business goals and objectives. The present study investigates
the mediating role of organisational justice in the relationship between quiet quitting
behaviour and psychological engagement among private sector hospital nurses in the
Colombo district, Sri Lanka. There were few studies conducted in this area, and
researchers focused on filling the research gap by conducting this study to find out
the situation in the Sri Lankan behaviour. Therefore, a quantitative, cross-sectional
survey design was employed, utilising a structured questionnaire administered to a
sample of 311 nurses working in private hospitals. The data was mainly analysed
using correlation and regression analysis to obtain more reliable and validated results.
As a result of the correlation analysis between quiet quitting and psychological
engagement, a moderately significant positive relationship was found (r = 0.508, p <
0.01). The regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive impact of
quiet quitting behaviour on psychological engagement (B = 0.097; p = 0.000), while
mediation analysis results confirmed a significant indirect effect. These results
highlight the importance of further research to explore additional factors that may
shape quiet quitting behaviour and its implications for psychological engagement in
healthcare settings. Furthermore, healthcare administrators and HR practitioners’
emphasis the need to focus on strategic tools to enhance engagement and reduce the
adverse effects of quiet quitting in high-stress work environments.
