Searching for meaning: The mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between meaningful work and turnover intention of Millennials
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21580/pjpp.v5i1.4305Keywords:
meaningful work, millennial generation, turnover intention, work engagementAbstract
The trend of employees leaving companies is highest in the millennial generation, and is expected to continue to increase year on year. This study aims to ascertain how the meaningfulness of work affects the intention to leave through the role of work engagement as a mediator in the millennial generation sample studied. The research was conducted on 446 millennial generation employees (aged 20-37) working in various types of companies in Indonesia, using the convenience sampling method. The instruments used in the research were the Work as Meaning Inventory, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-9, and the Turnover Intention Scale. Based on the mediation analysis, work engagement significantly acts as a mediator in the relationship between the meaningfulness of work and the millennial generation’s intention to leave their company (= -0.071, SE = 0.012, LLCI = -0.094, ULCI = -0.047). It is hoped that the findings from the study will provide information for organizations on promoting meaningful work and work engagement and thus increasing the desire of millennial generation employees to stay longer in their company or organization.Downloads
References
Abid, G., & Hassan Butt, T. (2017). Expressed turnover intention: Alternate method for knowing turnover intention and eradicating common method bias. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 78, 18–26. https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.78.18
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2018). Penduduk berumur 15 tahun ke atas menurut golongan umur dan jenis kegiatan selama seminggu yang lalu, 2008 – 2018.
Bakker, A. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Taris, T. W. (2008). Work engagement: An emerging concept in occupational health psychology. Work & Stress, 22(3), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370802393649
Baklaieva, O. (2016). The relationship among meaningfulness of work, work engagement and intention to leave. ISM University of Management and Economics.
Brown, E. A., Thomas, N. J., & Bosselman, R. H. (2015). Are they leaving or staying: A qualitative analysis of turnover issues for Generation Y hospitality employees with a hospitality education. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 46, 130–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2015.01.011
Coetzee, M., & De Villiers, M. (2010). Sources of job stress, work engagement and career orientations of employees in a South African financial institution. Southern African Business Review, 14(1).
Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E. (2010). Test development. Psychological testing and assessment. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Fairlie, P. (2011). Meaningful work, employee engagement, and other key employee outcomes: Implications for human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13(4), 508–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422311431679
Fatimah, H., Dharmawan, A. H., Sunarti, E., & Affandi, M. J. (2015). The influence of communication and motivation factors on employee engagement in the generation x and y. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, 38(1), 22–30.
Forastero, A., Sjabadhyni, B., & Mustika, M. D. (2018). What millennials want: How to optimize their work. Psikohumaniora: Jurnal Penelitian Psikologi, 3(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.21580/pjpp.v3i1.2489
Gayle, S. C. (1997). Workplace purpose and meaning as perceived by information technology professionals: A phenomenological study. The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Geldenhuys, M., Laba, K., & Venter, C. M. (2014). Meaningful work, work engagement and organisational commitment. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 40(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip. v40i1.1098
Holbeche, L., & Springett, N. (2003). In search of the meaning of work. Roffey Park Institute.
Hoole, C., & Bonnema, J. (2015). Work engagement and meaningful work across generational cohorts. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.681
Jamison, I. B. (2003). Turnover and retention among volunteers in human service agencies. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 23(2), 114–132. https://doi.org/10.1177%2 F0734371X03023002003
Janik, M. (2015). Meaningful work and secondary school teachers’ intention to leave. South African Journal of Education, 35(2), 1008. https://doi.org/10.15700 /saje.v35n2a1008
Johnson, M. J., & Jiang, L. (2017). Reaping the benefits of meaningful work: The mediating versus moderating role of work engagement. Stress and Health, 33(3), 288–297. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2710
Kessler, A. N. (2016). Retaining the nonretainable: A correlational exploration of work centrality and turnover among the millennial workforce. University of La Verne.
Ling, G. J., Yusof, H. M., & Rahman, R. H. A. (2016). The relationship between organizational commitment and turnover intention among employees at a manufacturing company in Malaysia. International Information Institute (Tokyo). Information, 19(8A), 3227.
Lu, A. C. C., & Gursoy, D. (2016). Impact of job burnout on satisfaction and turnover intention: do generational differences matter? Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 40(2), 210–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348013495696
Macky, K., Gardner, D., Forsyth, S., Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, S. M. (2008). Generational differences in psychological traits and their impact on the workplace. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(8), 862–877. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940810904367
May, D. R., Gilson, R. L., & Harter, L. M. (2004). The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77(1), 11–37. https://doi.org/10.1348/ 096317904322915892
Mobley, W. H., Horner, S. O., & Hollingsworth, A. T. (1978). An evaluation of precursors of hospital employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63(4), 408–414. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.63.4.408
Ng, E. S. W., Schweitzer, L., & Lyons, S. T. (2010). New generation, great expectations: A field study of the millennial generation. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 281–292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9159-4
Park, J., & Gursoy, D. (2012). Generation effects on work engagement among US hotel employees. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(4), 1195–1202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2012.02.007
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Purba, D. E. (2015). Employee embeddedness and turnover intentions: Exploring the moderating effects of commute time and family embeddedness. Hubs-Asia, 10(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.7454/mssh.v19i1.3472
Putri, S., Sjabadhyni, B., & Mustika, M. D. (2018). “Making generation Y stay”: The nediating role of organizational commitment. Psikohumaniora: Jurnal Penelitian Psikologi, 3(2), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.21580/pjpp.v3i2.2513
Queiri, A., Yusoff, W. F. W., & Dwaikat, N. (2015). Explaining generation-Y employees’ turnover in Malaysian context. Asian Social Science, 11(10), 126. https://doi.org/10.5539 /ass.v11n10p126
Saragih, E. H., Widodo, A., & Prasetyo, B. (2016). Big city millenial workers in Indonesia and factors affecting their commitment to the organisation. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 24, 47–58. https://doi.org/10.13140 /RG.2.1.3222.2961
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2003). Utrecht work engagement scale: Preliminary manual. Occupational Health Psychology Unit, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 26, 0–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.248
Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi‐sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(3), 293–315. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.248
Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701–716. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164405282471
Schneider, B. (1987). The people make the place. Personnel Psychology, 40(3), 437–453. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1987.tb00609.x
Sohrabizadeh, S., & Sayfouri, N. (2014). Antecedents and consequences of work engagement among nurses. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal, 16(11). https://doi.org/10.5812/ircmj.16351
Steger, M. F., & Dik, B. J. (2010). Work as meaning: individual and organizational benefits of engaging in meaningful work. In Oxford handbook of positive psychology and work (Oxford Uni, pp. 131–142).
Steger, M. F., Dik, B. J., & Duffy, R. D. (2012). Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI). Journal of Career Assessment, 20(3), 322–337. https://doi.org/10.1177 /1069072711436160
Suadicani, P., Bonde, J. P., Olesen, K., & Gyntelberg, F. (2013). Job satisfaction and intention to quit the job. Occupational Medicine, 63(2), 96–102. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqs233
Tett, R. P., & Meyer, J. P. (1993). Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, Turnover Intention, and Turnover: Path Analyses Based on Meta‐Analytic Findings. Personnel Psychology, 46(2), 259–293. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1993.tb00874.x
Tohmatsu, D. T. (2018). 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey: millennials disappointed in business, unprepared for Industry 4.0.
Vidwans, S. S., & Raghvendra, P. (2016). A study of meaningful work, hope and meaning in life in young professional artists. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(4), 469.
Wells-Lepley, M., & Column, W.-L. (2013). Meaningful work: The key to employee engagement. In Business Lexicon: Weekly Wire.
Yalabik, Z. Y., Popaitoon, P., Chowne, J. A., & Rayton, B. A. (2013). Work engagement as a mediator between employee attitudes and outcomes. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(14), 2799–2823. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013. 763844
Yang, S.-B., & Guy, M. E. (2006). GenXers versus boomers: Work motivators and management implications. Public Performance & Management Review, 29(3), 267–284. https://doi.org/10.2753/PMR1530-9576290302
Yeoman, R. (2014). Conceptualising meaningful work as a fundamental human need. Journal of Business Ethics, 125(2), 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1894-9
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The copyright of the accepted article shall be assigned to the publisher of the journal. The intended copyright includes the right to publish the article in various forms (including reprints). The journal maintains the publishing rights to published articles.
In line with the license, authors and any users (readers and other researchers) are allowed to share and adapt the material only for non-commercial purposes. In addition, the material must be given appropriate credit, provided with a link to the license, and indicated if changes were made. If authors remix, transform, or build upon the material, authors must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.