ABSTRACT
Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of emotional labor, positive psychological capital, and rewards on the retention intention among coronavirus diseases 19 (COVID-19) ward nurses in regional public hospitals. @*Methods@#The subjects were nurses who directly participated in nursing while wearing protective gear (level D or higher) in a COVID-19 ward. Data were collected from March 15 to March 29, 2021, and a total of 187 questionnaires were analyzed. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression using SPSS for Windows version 27.0. @*Results@#The mean scores of emotional labor, positive psychological capital, and retention intention were 3.48, 3.74, 3.22, and 5.75. The factors influencing retention intension were positive psychological capital (β=.28, p<.001), and the explanatory power for retention intention was 20.0%. @*Conclusion@#These results indicate that in order to increase retention intention, it is necessary to foster nurses with high positive psychological capital who can make good use of positive emotions, and additional research is needed to clarify the factors influencing nurses’s retention intention to remain in the organization.