In this study, based on the heuristic model of employee turnover (Mobley, 1977; Mobley, Horner, & Hollingsworth, 1978), we hypothesize and demonstrate that Japanese IT workers' turnover intention is driven by their level of job satisfaction. The results indicate that the effect of job exhaustion, personal achievement and friendship network on turnover intention is fully mediated through job satisfaction. Therefore, it is likely that job satisfaction is a key driver of turnover in the Japanese IT sector.
A further analysis of the literature revealed four antecedents of job satisfaction that can be fruitfully used in this study's context: work exhaustion, personal achievement, work-home conflict and friendship networks. Most importantly, high levels of job burnout reduce the level of job satisfaction of IT workers (Kim & Wright, 2007): this makes the job burnout construct highly relevant in the context of the current study. Work-home conflict, which refers to the incompatible demands of work and family (Ahuja, Chudoba, Kacmar, McKnight, & George, 2007; Turel, Serenko, & Bontis, 2011), is a third important antecedent of job satisfaction.
In the proposed model, we assume a direct negative path between job satisfaction and turnover intention. Previous research has also identified personal achievement as a reliable predictor of job satisfaction in several contexts (Brewer & Clippard, 2002; Koeske, Kirk, Koeske, & Rauktis, 1994). Developing and maintaining friendship networks contributes to job satisfaction for several reasons (Raile et al., 2008).
Consequently, friendship networks should have a positive effect on the level of job satisfaction of Japanese IT workers.
3 Methods
When people's job security cannot be threatened and they believe they must remain loyal to their company, they are likely to continue to be satisfied with their jobs regardless of their perceptions of work burnout, personal performance, work-home conflict, and friendship networks. In contrast, job satisfaction of those working in younger organizations where the culture of long-term employment is less prominent may be strongly driven by their workplace mood and emotions (according to affective event theory by Weiss & Cropanzano (1996)).
4 Results
In general, the constructs have sufficient reliability and validity, which enables the model's use in subsequent steps. FN2 When these friends or acquaintances seek your help with problems of a technical nature or otherwise, to what extent do you try to help them. JS: job satisfaction; FN: friendship networks; PA: personal achievement; TI: turnover intention; US: work exhaustion; WHC: work-home conflict.
We then added the direct paths from work exhaustion, personal achievement, work–home conflict, and friendship networks to turnover intention (ie, a saturated model, see Figure 3 ) and re-estimated the model. Most importantly, we found no new statistically significant path coefficients to switching intention at the p<0.05 level, while all previously established relationships remained significant. Therefore, the effect of job exhaustion, personal achievement, and friendship networks on turnover intention is fully mediated by job satisfaction.
To investigate whether the strength of the relationships is stronger for younger than for older organizations (i.e. H6), samples were divided into two groups: younger organizations with an age of 1 to 29 years (158 companies) and older organizations with an age of 1 to 29 years (158 companies) age 30 years or older (126 companies). We observed statistically significant differences in the path coefficients between younger (Y) and older (O) firms for the following relationships: work exhaustionjob satisfaction (Y stronger negative effect), personal performancejob satisfaction (Y stronger positive effect), and job satisfaction. -home conflictwork satisfaction (Y stronger positive effect). No statistically significant differences were observed between the friendship networks (job satisfaction and job satisfaction) and turnover intention.
The effect of the age of an organization (various statistically significant pairs of beta coefficients are in bold).
5 Discussion
- Overview of the findings
- Contribution to theory
- Contribution to practice
- Limitations and future research directions
A higher level of job burnout lowers the satisfaction level of Japanese IT workers, making them more likely to leave the job market. In particular, the negative effect of work exhaustion and the positive effect of personal achievements on job satisfaction exist only in younger organizations. The difference between younger and older organizations in terms of the strength of the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention is also consistent with the above observation (i.e. it is stronger for younger firms: β=-0.69 for younger versus β=-0 .45 for older organizations); however, this difference is not statistical.
Therefore, the collectivistic culture that is part of older organizations suppresses the effect of work exhaustion and personal performance on job satisfaction and subsequently on turnover intention. Fifth, stratifying the samples into younger and older organizations clarifies the reason why the work–home conflictjob satisfaction pathway (H4) was not statistically significant in the combined sample. First, the results confirm the effectiveness of the heuristic model of employee turnover (Mobley, 1977; Mobley et al., 1978) in the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention for IT employees in Japan.
Furthermore, their level of job satisfaction should not be negatively related to turnover intention – they are expected to remain loyal to their employer regardless of their workplace perceptions. Fourth, a comparison of individualistic factors (job burnout and personal achievement) with collectivist factors (work-home conflict and friendship networks) reveals that the former have a stronger impact on job satisfaction than the latter. Fifth, while a negative relationship between work–home conflict and job satisfaction was theoretically explained earlier to justify H4, a positive relationship for newer organizations requires further elaboration.
These employees therefore experience this stress positively, which improves their mood, feelings and perceptions of all aspects of work and manifests itself in higher job satisfaction. In contrast, employees working for older organizations respond negatively to stress caused by work-life conflict and exhibit a negative relationship between work-life conflict and job satisfaction. Nevertheless, the observed positive relationship between work-home conflict and job satisfaction for younger organizations is somewhat surprising, and it is suggested that future researchers explore this topic in more depth.
As this study demonstrates, managers should measure the level of job satisfaction of their employees and find the factors that influence it. Older organizations in Japan tend to adopt more collectivist values, which may affect perceptions of job satisfaction in the workplace. For managers of older organizations, work-family conflict should be particularly important because it reduces IT employees' job satisfaction, leading to voluntary turnover.
6 Conclusion
Thus, potential organizational differences not accounted for in this study should be considered in future research. Fifth, this study's methods focused on a single perspective - the "supply side of labour" - while approaching the issue from the "demand side of labour". For example, it is possible that the model's relationships can be influenced by labor market conditions or the level of a country's IT infrastructure (Palvia, Ghosh, Jacks, & Serenko, 2021).
Sixth, it is feasible that the strength of the relationships tested depends on the personality types and other characteristics of IT employees (Allen, Weeks, & Moffitt, 2005), and we recommend that future researchers examine this possibility. Seventh, we relied on explicit self-reported measures that may be affected by social desirability bias. Therefore, we recommend that future researchers use implicit constructs that are measured beyond people's conscious awareness (e.g., see Serenko, 2022; Serenko & Turel, 2019; Serenko & Turel, 2021).
Eighth and finally, while this study's model has good predictive power, a large portion of the variance is still unaccounted for.
Identification as an organizational anchor: How identification and job satisfaction combine to predict turnover intention. Employee turnover in manufacturing SMEs in Japan: an analysis of the link with HRM practices. Comparing motivational work characteristics, job satisfaction and turnover intentions of knowledge workers and blue-collar workers, and testing a structural model of the relationships between the variables in China and Japan.
Information technology professional turnover: A narrative review, meta-analytic structural equation modeling, and model development. The relationship between key self-reported traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. Occupational stress and turnover risk: a large prospective cohort study of employees in Japan.
The effect of psychological empowerment on turnover intention through job satisfaction and organizational commitment: Focusing on Korean, Chinese, Japanese employees. The relationship between intention to stay at work and job satisfaction among Japanese nurses in small- and medium-sized private hospitals. Individual demographic differences and job satisfaction among information technology personnel: An empirical study in Taiwan.
The role of job satisfaction in IT staff turnover and turnover intentions in South Africa. The future of Japan's employment system: Continuing long-term employment and the challenges it faces. Retention of the nursing workforce: factors contributing to the reduction of turnover intention of nurses in Japan.
Information technology worker turnover: An empirical study of the influence of attitudes, job characteristics, and external markets.
