Employee Traits, Perceived Organizational Support, Supervisory Communication, Affective Commitment, and Intent to Leave: Group Differences

Abstract

This study explored the implications a diversifying workforce may have on employee attitudes, perceptions, and intention to leave the organization. Employee responses to an annual company survey (N=2838) were analyzed to determine whether demographic groups differed in perceptions of organizational support and supervisory communication, organizational commitment, and intention to leave. Demographic groups of interest included gender, job classification, and race. Age and tenure differences were also studied. The study also examined the relationship between perceived organizational support, affective commitment, perceived supervisory communication, and intention to leave. The predictive relationship between perceived organizational support, affective commitment, perceived supervisory communication, and employee demographics with intention to leave was also explored. Results of this study suggest that gender differences are diminishing in the current workforce. Further, it suggests that meaningful group differences are not prevalent in the sample analyzed. Affective commitment, perceived organizational support, and supervisory communication were shown to be positively related. Employees who intended to leave could not be consistently identified by their attitudes, perceptions, and demographic information using discriminant function analysis.