Evaluation of a Model Relating Inclusion, Organizational Commitment, and Intention to Leave among Child Welfare Workers
Abstract
High turnover is a major problem in public child welfare organizations because it impedes effective and efficient service delivery. The purpose of my study is to investigate the effects of individual characteristics and organizational inclusion (e.g., a participative decision-making structure, accessible information) on organizational outcomes (e.g., organizational commitment, job satisfaction, intention to leave) among public child welfare workers. Several theories (e.g., organizational culture, social identity, and social exchange theories) provided a theoretical framework for the study. The study used secondary data collected from public child welfare workers across the state of Maryland (N=544, 56.5% response rate). Multilevel modeling (MLM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to investigate the relationships between variables and test the conceptual model. Several significant pathways in the model were identified. Specifically, the results of MLM showed that public child welfare workers' level of organizational commitment mediated the impact of different levels of workers' perceived inclusion across organizations on turnover intention. The SEM analysis further supported the importance of inclusion in predicting workers' turnover intention. The study findings have some practical implications. To tackle the high turnover rate in child welfare organizations, administrators and leaders need to focus on enhancing their workers' commitment as well as increasing opportunities for employees' participation in decision making and improving communication within the agency, thereby fostering a greater sense of inclusion in the daily life of the organization.Description
University of Maryland, Baltimore. Social Work. Ph.D. 2012Keyword
multilevel modelingorganizational inclusion
turnover
Organizational commitment
Labor turnover
Child welfare workers