WHEN TO FIX IT AND WHEN TO LEAVE - RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PERCEIVED CONTROL, SELF-EFFICACY, DISSENT, AND EXIT

Using a sample of hospital nurses, the author tested the hypothesis th at both self-efficacy and perceived control over decision making contr ibute to individuals' willingness to engage in reformist dissent when faced with injustice and to their intentions to exit. Reformist dissen t is defined as dissent that occurs within the confines of an organiza tion's rules and norms. Perceived control over decision making was exp ected to be positively related to willingness to engage in reformist d issent and to be inversely related to exit. Because it was expected th at both dissent and exit require confidence, self-efficacy was predict ed to be positively related to both dissent and exit. Control was posi tively related to willingness to dissent and inversely related to exit . Self-efficacy however, predicted only dissent. Implications for work er well-being and retention are discussed, and directions for future r esearch and theory development are offered.