Determinants of job satisfaction and turnover intentions of public employees: evidence from US federal agencies

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to probe the main determinants of job satisfaction (JS) and turnover intention (TI) in the public sector, as identified in the relevant literature: goal congruence, intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation, and interpersonal trust. Drawing on Simon’s two-factor theory, as well as employing a systematic conceptual and empirical model, this research analyzes two dimensions of TI among public employees (conflictual TI and developmental TI) to identify important antecedents and mediating conditions (pull factors and push factors) of TI. Large data sets from the Merit Principles Survey (MPS) are used to develop an ‘antecedent-mediator-outcome’ model that empirically analyzes and tests the direct and indirect effects of a set of attitudinal and behavioral influences on JS and two types of TI within US federal agencies. The research finds that certain predictors and mediators play major roles in meaningfully diminishing the levels of conflictual TI and developmental TI while significantly boosting JS. Based on a discussion of the main findings, research and practical implications for public management theory and practice are provided.

Keywords:

• turnover intentions
• job satisfaction
• interpersonal trust
• intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
• goal congruence
• public human resource management
• US federal agencies

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2013S1A3A2055042).

Notes

1. For example, in the United States, the 1989 report of the National Commission on the Public Service (also known as the Volcker Commission’s Report) described the state of public service as a ‘quiet crisis,’ citing the slow weakening of public service in the 1970s and 1980s (Soni, 2000). This phenomenon continued through the 1990s to the present and has been made more severe by various human resource challenges to the federal government, such as the coming retirement wave over the next decade (Cho & Lewis, 2012; Lewis & Cho, 2011; Tobias, 2001) that will eventually result in mounting vacancies throughout government agencies and a high turnover rate, as evidenced by the fact that one quarter of the federal employees hired from 2006 and 2008 left within two years (Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton, 2010 cited in Cho & Lewis, 2012). As a result, US federal agencies are confronted with a shortage of younger people in the pipeline for government jobs (Soni, 2000) to fill those vacancies and increased competition for employees from the private and nonprofit sectors (French & Goodman, 2012).

2. For example, the Self-Determination Theory proposed by Ryan and Deci (2000) suggests that there is a motivation spectrum of amotivation, extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Amotivation is defined as the state where an individual is entirely void of a personal intention to do something. An extrinsic motivation is generated instrumentally and involuntarily in order to get an extrinsic reward, such as the acknowledgement of others, either monetary or nonmonetary. Accordingly, an extrinsic motivation could be understood as satisfaction with the result of activity. On the other hand, an intrinsic motivation is generated spontaneously in order to generate feelings of interest, a sense of accomplishment, and satisfaction from performing one’s task. Accordingly, an intrinsic motivation could be understood as satisfaction with the activity process.

3. Supplementary congruence can be formed when the values and goals of individuals and their organizations are similar to each other. Complementary congruence is achieved when the characteristics of individuals and environments add something that is missing to make each other whole (Munchinsky & Monahon, 1987; Vancouver & Schmitt, 1991).

4. According to a study of influential factors on peer trust and performance by Ji et al. (2008), shared values among the members of an organization can have positive effects on organizational commitment, collaboration and job satisfaction, as well as on peer trust. Steffy et al. (1989) proposed that a high degree of fit between an organization and its members has a positive effect on members’ long-term social relationships and career management. In addition, from an international perspective, while Park & Rainey (2012) found that matching in the organizational environment, such as among members, peers, supervisors, duties and organization, has positive effects on establishing social capital in the organization. In other words, trust formed when employees interact in an organization is very closely related to environmental factors.

5. While Harman’s single-factor test indicates no serious bias in measuring the relationships, the results should be cautiously interpreted. However, as Cho and Perry (2012) suggest, we strongly believe that having perceived variables in a structural equation model could be acceptable because ‘employee satisfaction and intent to leave reflect employee cognitions so survey respondents can provide the most accurate data’ and ‘although the bias does exist, it is not sufficiently large to invalidate an analysis relying on a single data source’ (p. 401).