What Increases Public Employees’ Turnover Intention?

Abstract

This research examined the extent to which job motivation, social support, public service motivation (PSM), and burnout are related to turnover intention and whether burnout serves as a mediator for these relations. Using data collected from local revenue officers in South Korea, this research found that intrinsic motivation was significantly and negatively related to employees’ intention to leave their organization, whereas self-sacrifice (one of the PSM elements) was positively associated with turnover intention. In addition, the analyses revealed mediating effects of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (burnout) on both intrinsic motivation and self-sacrifice turnover intention. These findings are relevant for public organizations that are concerned about managing employee turnover intention caused by public reforms dealing with changing environment.