Off-the-job embeddedness as a moderator of the relationship between work and life conflict and turnover intention

Abstract

The impact of work and life conflict on employee performance and turnover is well-understood. In contrast, the role of off-the-job embeddedness – the attachment of an employee to his or her life outside of work – needs clarification in respect to its potential to buffer the negative effects of work and life conflict on employee turnover intention. Drawing on conservation of resources and job embeddedness theories, we argue that off-the-job embeddedness represents a collection of potential social support resources that can assist people in coping with the stressors resulting from work and life conflict. Based on a sample of 341 employees, this paper examines if off-the-job embeddedness moderates the relationship between work and life conflict and employee turnover intention. This study finds that off-the-job embeddedness weakened the impact of work and life conflict on turnover intention for more embedded employees. The implications of these findings are discussed for management practise and for the development of theory related to off-the-job embeddedness.

Keywords:

• Off-the-job embeddedness
• job embeddedness theory
• conservation of resources theory
• retention
• turnover
• social support
• motivation