Is It the Job or the Support? Examining Structural and Relational Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention for Nonprofit Employees

Abstract

We examine the relative efficacy of two theoretically distinct variables for predicting job satisfaction and turnover intentions for workers in nonprofit organizations. The first, perceived job characteristics, reflects the structure of jobs in terms of autonomy, skill variety, task identity, task significance, and feedback. The second, perceived organizational support, reflects the quality of the employee–organization relationship. We collected data from 196 full-time, nonprofit employees across two time periods, and we tested hypotheses using hierarchical regression and relative importance analysis. Results emphasize the significance of managing employees in a supportive manner and structuring jobs so that employees can work autonomously.