HOW DOES WORKPLACE SOCIAL SUPPORT INFLUENCE TURNOVER INTENTION

Abstract

Although tourism-related activities have rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic, and China has emerged as the world's second most powerful tourism market, China’s hotel industry continues to face severe employee turnover challenges, resulting in huge costs and organizational disruptions. Grounded in social exchange theory (SET), this study examines how workplace social support, comprising perceived organizational support (POS) and coworker support, affects organizational commitment and, consequently, turnover intention. Based on data collected from 285 Chinese hotel employees, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is applied to test five hypothesized relationships and investigate the mediating role of organizational commitment. The results demonstrate that support from both the organization and coworkers is a significant factor in shaping employees’ attitudes towards organizational commitment and their intention to quit. Notably, coworker support exerts a stronger influence on commitment than organizational support, highlighting the critical role of peer relationships in retention. Pleasant social relationships are critical, this network enhances employee well-being, creates a positive work context, and increases the workers’ sense of belonging to the business. The study highlights actionable insights for hotel management, also empirically validates SET in China’s hotel context. It advances theoretical understanding while offering practical strategies to mitigate turnover intention through targeted social support mechanisms.