Predictors of staff retention satisfaction: The role of the psychological contract and job satisfaction

Abstract

Higher education institutions in South Africa are experiencing alarmingly high levels of staff turnover and struggling to retain their valuable employees. This study explored whether the psychological contract significantly predicted employees' satisfaction with human resource retention practices within the higher education sector. A total of 493 employees of a large South African higher education institution were participants (black Africans = 48%, female = 63%; mean years of service longer than 15 years = 35%). Results from regression analysis revealed psychological contract factors of employer obligations, employee obligations, job satisfaction, and state of the psychological contract to be associated with employee retention factors of compensation, job characteristics, training and development opportunities, supervisor support, career opportunities, and work-life balance. Furthermore, black African, females, employed as academic personnel, and those with shorter tenure were significantly more satisfied with their psychological contracts and the organisation's retention practices, than the other employees. These findings are consistent with the social exchange theory proposition on the importance of the psychological contract in the retention of key employees through employee retention satisfaction practices.

Keywords:

• higher education environment
• job satisfaction
• psychological contract
• retention practices
• social exchange theory