Job satisfaction and turnover: The role of creativity, engagement, and decent work amongst employees

Abstract

Orientation: The South African public service faces the challenge of a high labour turnover among its employees. There is a need for strategies to not only keep employees happy at work but also to retain them.

Research purpose: The study investigates the determinants of job satisfaction and turnover intention accounting for the role of employee creativity, engagement and decent work.

Motivation for the study: There is a need for strategies to not only retain employees within the public service but also to ensure the employees are satisfied with their jobs.

Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 304 employees working within the South African public service in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 25) and the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) software packages were used to analyse data.

Main findings: It was established that higher ratings of decent work experience relate positively to employee ratings of engagement in the work and that they also influenced outcomes such as job satisfaction and employee turnover intentions.

Practical/managerial implications: The findings are a useful precursor in improving not just the work experience for employees but also work related outcomes such as job satisfaction and turnover intention.

Contribution/value-add: The study findings give practical interventions to address the challenge of high turnover and the dearth of job satisfaction among public service employees.