Thirteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Employees’ turnover intentions may entail expensive consequences for companies. Although the links between workplace bullying and turnover intention, and work engagement and turnover intention are empirically well established, little is known about the link between work engagement and workplace bullying, including the mediating role of work engagement in the bullying – turnover intention link. Using a cross-sectional convenience sample of 373 employees in South African organisations, structural equation modeling and mediation analysis showed that perceptions of work- and person-related bullying were linked to low levels of vigour and dedication, which in turn were positively associated with high turnover intention. Work engagement partially mediated the effect of high workplace bullying on high turnover intention. The findings added important new insights to the engagement and retention literature by providing empirical evidence that alludes to the importance of enhancing employees’ vigour and dedication in order to buffer the negative effect of bullying on employees’ turnover intention. The findings extend the retention literature and are important for talent retention and business performance strategies in the current turbulent business climate.