Commitment and Intention in Employee Turnover: An LTC Sector Study Using TCM and TTM Models

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Long-term care (LTC) providers experience high employee turnover, with rates reaching 79-124% in 2024.
• Understanding factors influencing employee retention is critical for operational stability and quality of care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between employee commitment and intention to quit in LTC settings.
• To examine the influence of workplace factors and demographics on employee commitment using the Three-Component Model (TCM).
• To explore the relationship between stages of change in the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and employee turnover intention.

Main Methods:

• Correlational statistical analysis of survey data from 327 employees across 14 LTC organizations.
• Examined the effects of malleable workplace factors and demographics on employee commitment.
• Correlated employee commitment with intention to quit.

Main Results:

• Significant correlations were found between workplace factors and employee commitment.
• Affective Commitment showed the strongest negative correlation with intention to quit (r = -0.446, P < .01).
• Higher pay, longer tenure, more work hours, and departmental consistency were associated with higher commitment and lower turnover intention. Employees in TTM's Precontemplation and Maintenance/Termination stages had the lowest intention to quit.

Conclusions:

• Workplace factors significantly influence employee commitment levels and types, which in turn affect their intention to quit.
• Employee commitment acts as a key moderator between workplace conditions and turnover intention.
• Findings provide guidance for LTC employers to mitigate employee turnover by focusing on modifiable workplace factors.