The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of childcare teachers’ job embeddedness on turnover intention, focusing on the mediating role of organizational commitment and the moderating role of grit. To achieve this purpose, the following re...
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of childcare teachers’ job embeddedness on turnover intention, focusing on the mediating role of organizational commitment and the moderating role of grit. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were established:
Research Question 1.
Do childcare teachers’ job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and grit influence turnover intention?
Hypothesis 1-1. Childcare teachers’ job embeddedness will influence turnover intention.
Hypothesis 1-2. Childcare teachers’ organizational commitment will influence turnover intention.
Hypothesis 1-3. Childcare teachers’ grit will influence turnover intention.
Research Question 2.
Does organizational commitment mediate the relationship between childcare teachers’ job embeddedness and turnover intention?
Hypothesis 2-1. Organizational commitment will mediate the relationship between childcare teachers’ job embeddedness and turnover intention.
Research Question 3.
Does grit moderate the relationship between childcare teachers’ job embeddedness and turnover intention?
Hypothesis 3-1. Grit will moderate the relationship between childcare teachers’ job embeddedness and turnover intention.
This study conducted a survey with 356 childcare teachers working at daycare centers located in Y City, Gyeonggi-do and C City, Gangwon-do. The research instrument was a questionnaire that consisted of items measuring childcare teachers’ job embeddedness, turnover intention, organizational commitment, and grit. Data were collected using both paper-based and online surveys.
For data analysis, correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among variables. To identify the effects, mediating, and moderating relationships among the variables, simple regression analysis, multiple regression analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were performed using SPSS. In addition, PROCESS Macro was employed to test the mediating and moderating effects.
The results of this study are as follows.
First, an analysis of the effects of childcare teachers’ job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and grit on turnover intention revealed that job embeddedness had a significant negative effect on turnover intention, indicating that higher job embeddedness was associated with lower turnover intention. Among the sub-factors of job embeddedness, sacrifice and fit significantly reduced turnover intention, whereas linksunexpectedly showed a positive effect, increasing turnover intention. Among these, sacrifice was identified as the most influential factor.
Second, the analysis of organizational commitment showed that it significantly lowered turnover intention. Specifically, affective commitment and normative commitment reduced turnover intention, whereas continuance commitment was found to increase it.
Finally, grit was also found to significantly decrease turnover intention. Among its sub-factors, interest consistency exerted the strongest negative effect, followed by perseverance of effort and passion. In contrast, adaptability was found to slightly increase turnover intention.
Second, the mediating effect of organizational commitment in the relationship between job embeddedness and turnover intention was confirmed. Both job embeddedness and organizational commitment had significant effects on turnover intention, and the explanatory power of the model increased when both variables were included. This indicates that higher job embeddedness leads to stronger organizational commitment, which in turn reduces turnover intention, demonstrating the mediating role of organizational commitment.
Third, the moderating effect of grit in the relationship between job embeddedness and turnover intention was verified. Both variables had significant negative effects on turnover intention, and the explanatory power of the model increased when grit was included. Specifically, childcare teachers with higher levels of grit were found to maintain their goals even in difficult situations when job embeddedness was high, resulting in a stronger decrease in turnover intention. This suggests that grit functions as an important moderator in the relationship between job embeddedness and turnover intention.
The implications of this study are as follows.
First, the findings that job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and grit were all negatively associated with turnover intention suggest the need to strengthen these three factors to prevent childcare teachers’ turnover. To this end, it is necessary to foster a positive work environment that promotes teachers’ embeddedness in their jobs and organizations, while also providing programs and psychological support that enhance grit as a personal trait.
Second, the confirmed mediating effect of organizational commitment indicates the importance of institutional and emotional mechanisms at the organizational level to strengthen teachers’ commitment. Establishing fair compensation systems, enhancing communication within organizations, and providing opportunities for professional development are essential strategies in this regard.
Third, the verified moderating effect of grit highlights that teachers’ dispositional characteristics play an important role in turnover management. Thus, training programs, psychological and emotional support, and coaching aimed at enhancing perseverance and achievement orientation should be implemented to develop human resource management strategies that balance individual traits with organizational factors.
In conclusion, this study confirmed that job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and grit have significant effects on turnover intention among childcare teachers. These findings suggest that reducing teacher turnover and fostering a stable work environment require a comprehensive and systematic approach that considers both individual psychological traits and organizational contexts.