Commuting Stress–Turnover Intention Relationship and the Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction: An Empirical Analysis of Turkish Employees

Abstract

Using hierarchical regression analysis within a mediation model framework, the present study explores the direct and indirect (through life satisfaction) causal impacts of commuting stress on the turnover intention of employees from 29 business organizations in six populous cities in Turkey. A semi-random representative sample of a heterogeneous mix of 214 employees with different demographics was surveyed in both winter and summer in order to capture the seasonal variations in variables. The results support the partially mediating role of life satisfaction in the positive relationship between commuting stress and turnover intention, and infer that commuting stress induces turnover intention both directly and indirectly (by reducing life satisfaction). An analysis of variance reveals that the demographic characteristics of employees such as gender, marital status, age, and family size, along with commuting type and commuting duration, matter for their perceived commuting stress, life satisfaction, and turnover intention levels. Commuting stress perception is relatively higher in the summertime, whereas the other magnitudes are consistently and significantly invariant between the two survey implementations. The study concludes with a call for the consideration of commuting stress and life satisfaction together with environmental and demographic factors when analyzing the antecedents and consequences of employee turnover intentions.