The relationship between employee motivation and employee turnover: Case of higher educational sector in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Employee motivation is an important aspect of human resources and has been considered as a contributing factor to many workplace concerns. One of these concerns is employee turnover, which is the rate and reason by which people at a workplace leave and seek other employment. Organizations need to be able to manage employee turnover effectively. This is especially true in the higher education industry, where the job market is globalized and talented faculty members in one university can easily find positions in other universities around the world. In this study, the relationship between motivation and turnover is examined, particularly in the context of the higher education industry in Saudi Arabia. It is of interest to determine if there is significant correlation between motivation and job satisfaction, and between motivation and intention to stay employed at a Saudi University. Furthermore, it is of interest to examine how different demographic variables, particularly age, years employed, education, gender, and nationality, each affect these variables of interest and impact their relationship. A quantitative, survey-based design was selected to accomplish these objectives. A sample of 97 people who have worked or are currently working at a Saudi Arabian university at a teaching or research capacity was selected. The participants answered a questionnaire that gathered data on their motivation, job satisfaction, and intention to stay in their current employment. The questionnaire used a 7-point Likert scale. For motivation, the questionnaire used a multidimensional motivation scale that had been validated in previous studies. Results show that faculty members in Saudi Arabian universities have above average intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as above average job satisfaction and intention to stay. Furthermore, analysis of the data found significant, positive correlation (p<0.001) between both types of motivation and job satisfaction, as well as between both types of motivation and intention to stay. On the other hand, none of the demographic variables considered were found to have a significant impact on either variable. The demographic variables were also not found to affect the relationship between the main variables of interest. Thus, some effects on motivation and turnover that were found in literature, such as generational effect, was not found in the study among faculty working in Saudi Arabian universities. The positive correlation between motivation and turnover found in this study supports the idea that the Ministry of Education as well as individual universities in Saudi Arabia should regularly measure the motivation of their faculty in order to provide information that can help them manage turnover rates. Further study should be undertaken to explore the causal relationship between motivation and turnover, as well as the impact of nationality in the Saudi Arabian context.