When Do Personal Factors Make Autonomy Motivational Orientation Worthwhile? A Case of Turnover Intentions

Abstract

Several meta-analytic studies suggest that individual and contextual factors determine employees’ workplace quitting intentions. Autonomy motivational orientation as an individual factor has many beneficial outcomes, including a reduction in employee turnover intention. However, the studies in this area suggest that the influence is indirect. Grounded in self-determination theory and career stage theory, we hypothesize that the influence of employees’ autonomy motivational disposition on quitting intention is contingent on the level of employees’ age. Results of data collected from 340 engineers, marketing and service personnel from a large public sector undertaking supported our hypothesized model. Employees with high autonomy motivational disposition show less intention to leave the organization when they grow old than young. We conclude by discussing that employees behave for autonomous reasons and show greater organizational identity and less quitting intention with growing age.