The increasing turnover intentions among MZ generation civil servants raise fundamental questions about generational alignment within the public sector. This study investigates how perceptions of organizational justice and public service values influe...
The increasing turnover intentions among MZ generation civil servants raise fundamental questions about generational alignment within the public sector. This study investigates how perceptions of organizational justice and public service values influence turnover intentions among MZ generation public employees in South Korea, while also examining the moderating role of organizational type (central vs. local government). Drawing on 2023 survey data from the Korea Institute of Public Administration, this study employs hierarchical moderated regression analysis, distinguishing justice into distributive, procedural, and interactional dimensions, and public values into professional, ethical, and humanistic domains.
The findings indicate that all three dimensions of justice significantly reduce turnover intentions, while ethical and humanistic values also have a mitigating effect. Conversely, professional values were positively associated with turnover intention, suggesting that highly motivated employees may seek better opportunities when organizational recognition is insufficient. Notably, the moderating effects of organizational type were found to be significant primarily among the Millennial group, with distributive justice and humanistic values showing weaker influence among local government officials. The results suggest that generational differences, value alignment, and institutional context jointly shape public servants' intention to stay or leave, calling for differentiated HRM strategies and value-based organizational reforms in the public sector.