Background: Undertaking degree studies while working can provide life-changing career opportunities. These studies, however, can introduce substantial work-life balance conflict, particularly for those with family responsibilities, with important implications for retention.Aim: The aim of this study is to test theory that predicts the effects of certain moderating and mediated influences on the relationship between work-life balance conflict and turnover intentions of professional staff undertaking evening degree classes at a selected South African university.Setting: The sample was drawn from a large university in Gauteng, South Africa.Methods: This study applies Hayes’s PROCESS methodology to test the moderating effects of age, gender, numbers of dependent children, social support, engagement and levels of stress on the relationship between work-life conflict and turnover intentions. Further tests of mediation are performed to test the mediating influence of job satisfaction on the same relationship.Results: Findings suggest a unique configuration of moderating and mediation influences relating to the work-life balance conflict for this cohort, particularly for those with dependent children. Those with more children who experience higher levels of work-life balance conflict are less likely to display higher turnover intentions. Individuals with higher levels of social support are however more likely to report higher levels of turnover intentions.Conclusion: These results support the conclusion that the relationships between work-life conflict and turnover intentions for working individuals undertaking evening degree classes in this context, display a different configuration of moderating influences from those expected in general working populations. Employers and other stakeholders should pay particular attention to these implications so as to ensure retention of scarce skills.
PurposeSocial exchange theory predicts that perceptions of employee/employer exchange relationships may change as employees add educational qualifications. Literature also suggests that more innovative individuals, who are particularly important to organisations, may be more likely to change jobs. The purpose of this study is to test how the innovativeness of an individual differs in its contribution to retention when subjected to different mediating and moderating influences indicated in the literature, for a cohort of employees that are undertaking degree studies while working.Design/methodology/approachTo test theory that suggests certain implications for employee turnover, the part-time studies unit of a large South African university offering degree studies by evening classes was sampled, yielding 323 useable responses, with a response rate of about 30%. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to test a theoretical model predicting certain mediating and moderating influences on the relationship between individual innovativeness and turnover intentions.FindingsIndividuals with higher innovativeness self-report higher turnover intentions, which seem to be reduced by the mediating effects of perceived supervisor support and job satisfaction. Perceptions of distributive justice and core self-evaluations, which may be associated with an individual's evaluation of the social exchange relationship, are found to directly enable retention.Originality/valueA model of moderation and mediation relationships between employee innovativeness and turnover intentions is derived from the literature and tested, offering novel insights into how to retain valuable staff in this context.
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