Emotional exhaustion as a mediator among workplace loneliness, work alienation and turnover intention

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the effect of loneliness and alienation in the workplace on the intention of leaving employment and whether emotional exhaustion has a mediating role in this effect.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses generated within the framework of the study model were evaluated by using the data set obtained from 402 survey participants working at nine shopping malls in the Central and Eastern Black Sea regions of Turkey and statistical analysis programs. In this context, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine the validity of the scale and the structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses.FindingsThe study reveals that loneliness and alienation in the workplace have an effect on the intention of leaving employment and that this effect is fully mediated by emotional exhaustion. Whether this full mediating role determined by the SEM is meaningful or not was evaluated by Bootstrap analysis and the results revealed that the effect is meaningful.Practical implicationsDeveloping effective communication channels that will prevent the employee from feeling isolated at work and eliminating the pressure and inadequate physical working conditions created by unrealistic sales targets are recommended. In addition, it is thought that if employees are included in decision-making processes and have sufficient autonomy related to the job, work alienation can be prevented.Originality/valueThis research is important in terms of evaluating shopping centers, which are accepted as the symbol of consumption today, not only with their economic aspects but also with their employees. In this context, the research has revealed that shopping mall employees want to leave their jobs due to emotional exhaustion caused by loneliness and alienation at work.

The relationship between job burnout and intention to change occupation in the accounting profession: the mediating role of psychological well-being

“…Broberg et al (2020) indicate that employees in the audit sector have the lowest psychological well-being and that change of employer and other circumstances are the most important predictors of their psychological well-being. Çiftci (2021) shows that emotional fatigue does influence the desire to change organization. Langove and Isha (2017) proposed that employee well-being mediates the relationship between rewards and recognition and turnover intention.…”

Loneliness in Young Adult Workers

“…Some time ago, Rook [ 28 ] argued that researchers should take a differentiated view of loneliness and incorporate these distinctions into research methodologies. However, it is evident that most research on workplace loneliness is quantitative (e.g., [ 8 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]). We chose a qualitative inductive research design given the exploratory nature of the study and our interest in the participants’ experiences of loneliness.…”

Workplace mitigators of the negative relationship between stress and health

“…In fact, social support has been suggested to be the most conspicuous situational variable that can potentially buffer against the negative effects of stress (Bakker et al ., 2005). Social support has even been empirically linked with lower levels of morbidity and multiple underlying disease processes (Uchino et al ., 1996), while loneliness in the workplace has been shown to be associated with emotional exhaustion (Öztürk Çiftci, 2021).…”