Relationship Between Effort-Reward Imbalance and Intention to Leave Among Dental Hygienists

Purpose Dental hygienists have been leaving clinical practice, creating shortages and impacting the quality of patient care. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and dental hygienists' turnover intention.Methods A cross-sectional electronic survey was used to measure the perception of ERI and intent to leave among a convenience sample of clinical dental hygienists. Validated instruments used were the ERI and Turnover Intention Scale (TIS). Statistical analysis included descriptive, correlation, and regression modeling.Results A total of 315 participants opened the survey; the completion rate was 72.4% (n = 228). Most participants agreed that their jobs have become increasingly demanding (75.9%, n = 173) and felt that their job promotion prospects were poor (81.6%, n = 186). No statistically significant correlations were found among demographic variables and ERI or intent to leave. However, all ERI subscales emerged as significant predictors of intent to leave; reward (β = -0.670, SE = 0.075, p < .001), overcommitment (β = 0.278, SE = 0.088, p = 0.002), and effort (β = 0.332, SE = 0.153, p = 0.030).Conclusion Dental hygienists who are experiencing higher ERI in the workplace are more inclined to leave. Reward (i.e., respect, recognition, and compensation) was the strongest negative predictor of intent to leave, indicating that reward is predictive of retention in the workplace. Conversely, higher effort and overcommitment predicted intention to leave.Understanding factors related to an imbalance between effort and reward in the dental setting is key for retaining dental hygienists in the workforce. This knowledge may assist employers in developing targeted interventions to improve retention and attract qualified candidates.