Eleventh International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the relations among supervisor support, psychological need satisfaction, engagement and intention of employees to leave. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample of 513 secondary school teachers in public schools in a province in South Africa. The Supervisor Support Scale, Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, Work Engagement Scale and Intention to Leave Scale were administered. The structural model confirmed that supervisor support (for autonomy, competence, and relatedness) was positively related to employees’ psychological need satisfaction and engagement and negatively related to intention to leave. Supervisor support affected engagement positively and intention to leave negatively via employees’ autonomy satisfaction. The findings suggest that supervisor support and psychological need satisfaction play a significant role in the engagement and retention of employees.