Turnover Intention and Motivation: Quantitative Correlational Examination of a Federal Agency

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to determine whether a relationship exists between turnover intention, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation among service members. The current study sought to answer to what degree there may be a relationship between turnover intention and intrinsic motivation or between turnover intention and extrinsic motivation among service members. This study was based on Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory and Fishbein and Ajzen’s psychological typology. The key relationship studied were between turnover intention, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation in an agency of the DoD, and the research design was non-experimental and correlational. The target population was delimited to 88 service members stationed on military bases in the Southwestern United States. The instrumentation used to carry out the current study consisted of an online instrument, and data analysis included descriptive statistics and Spearman analyses. The Spearman correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between turnover intention and intrinsic motivation among service members (r(86) = .25, p = .02) as well as a significant positive correlation between turnover intention and extrinsic motivation among service members (r(86) = .27, p = .01). The current study found intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were positively associated with turnover intentions among service members stationed on bases in the Southwestern United States. This finding is consistent with previous research and offers new insight into the nature of the relationship between turnover intention, intrinsic motivation, and extrinsic motivation in the specific context of the Department of Defense and also at the federal level.