Commitment and Intention in Employee Turnover: An LTC Sector Study Using TCM and TTM Models.

Abstract

Objectives: Long-term care (LTC) providers are facing a persistent issue of employee turnover. Various sources cite turnover rates of 79% to 124% in 2024. We used the three-component model (TCM) of commitment and the transtheoretical model of change (TTM) to study the correlation between employee commitment and their intention to quit.

Design: A correlational statistical analysis of survey results.

Setting and participants: We collected survey data from 327 employees from 14 LTC organizations across the state in the summer of 2023.

Methods: The researchers worked through a state association to invite their 500+ member organizations to participate in the survey. We used correlational statistics to examine the effects of malleable workplace factors and demographics (independent variables) on employee commitment. We then correlated employee commitment, as an independent variable, to the employee's intention to quit.

Results: From the 372 completed surveys, we showed significant correlations between workplace factors and employee commitment. Affective Commitment had the strongest negative correlation with the intention to quit (r = -0.446, P < .01). Employees with higher pay, longer tenure, more working hours per week, and departmental consistency reported higher commitment and lower intention to quit. Employees in the Precontemplation and Maintenance/Termination stages of TTM had the lowest intention to quit, whereas those in Contemplation and Action stages showed a higher likelihood of leaving.

Conclusions and implications: Workplace factors affect the employee's level and type of commitment, which then affects their intention to quit. In other words, commitment acts as a measurable and malleable moderator between workplace conditions and an employee's intention to quit. This study offers guidance to employers seeking to affect employee turnover. Further research into LTC facilities could include a more granular analysis of the bidirectional effects of changes in the workplace factors on commitment and employee turnover.