Is Mission Attachment an Effective Management Tool for Employee Retention? An Empirical Analysis of a Nonprofit Human Services Agency

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations have been known as mission-driven entities, in which people are attracted by their passion for the mission and remain there to accomplish it. This study tested the traditional assumption of mission orientation among nonprofit employees by replicating Brown and Yoshioka's research on the role of mission attachment as a factor in nonprofit employee retention. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis are generally consistent with Brown and Yoshioka: Human services employees showed a positive attitude toward the agency's mission, but dissatisfaction with working conditions—pay and career advancement—overrode the role of mission attachment in employee retention. However, employees' positive perceptions and strong correlations between nonprofit working conditions and mission attachment suggest that mission can still play a significant role in retaining nonprofit employees by reducing dissatisfaction with pay and career advancement.