The influences of work engagement and intention to turnover in pilots and cabin crew in a New Zealand based airline organisation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract

The motivational process linking job resources with engagement and intention to turnover was investigated in a New Zealand based airline organisation using an online survey of pilots and cabin crew (n=132). This study integrated two previously developed models of engagement, by Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) and May, Gilson and Harter (2004). The job resources of autonomy, supervisor support, coworker support and procedural fairness were proposed to relate to engagement through the activation of the psychological experiences of work related meaningfulness and psychological safety. Autonomy, coworker support and procedural fairness contributed significant explained variance to meaningfulness; while supervisor support, coworker support and procedural fairness contributed to psychological safety. Meaningfulness explained significant variance in engagement, which is consistent with the Job Demands-Resource theory of engagement where job resources are related to engagement via a motivational pathway. Meaningfulness was found to partially mediate the relationship between autonomy, supervisor support, procedural fairness and engagement, while psychological safety partially mediated the relationship between autonomy and engagement. Consistent with Schaufeli and Bakker?s (2004) model, engagement was found to be negatively related to intention to turnover. In addition both meaningfulness and psychological safety contributed significant variance to intention to turnover. This suggests that a motivational pathway, provided by meaningfulness, relates job resources to engagement, while psychological safety becomes important when addressing turnover intentions. This study has implications for practical application in organisations.