Impact of psychosocial risk on intention to leave work during COVID-19 in Indonesia: The mediatory roles of burnout syndrome and job satisfaction

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the complexity of work in the health sector, leading to an increase in the intention to leave work (ITL) in Indonesia. Previous research has revealed a theoretical gap in investigating the roles of burnout syndrome (BS) and job satisfaction (JS) as mediators of the effect of psychosocial risk (PR) on ITL. This research study aimed to fill this gap by examining the effect of PR on ITL during the COVID-19 pandemic, with BS and JS as mediators. Data was collected from 306 health workers in public and private hospitals of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. This data was analyzed as part of a cross-sectional research study involving the partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method and using SmartPLS software. The questionnaire was based on the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) III short version, the Burnout Assessment Tools (BAT), and a modified Turnover Intention. The findings revealed that, within the direct effect pathways, JS was the highest predictor of health workers' ITL, and workplace PR significantly impacted employees' JS and BS. Another notable finding was related to the research gap vis-a-vis the indirect effect pathways: it showed that JS and BS had partial mediatory power over the relationship between PR and ITL. BS and JS were found to have a high and significant impact on employees' ITL. Therefore, this research study has contributed to the model's novelty in measuring ITL mediated by JS and BS.