“Our obligations in relatedness”: a parallel paths analysis of Indigenous post-secondary employees' desires to remain and turnover intentions

Purpose Seeking to better understand the factors influencing Indigenous employees' desires to remain and turnover intentions, this study aims to expand retention theory and offer empirically supported pragmatic recommendations for sustained Indigenous employee stewardship and ultimately, organizational transformation and renewal. Design/methodology/approach We interviewed 18 Indigenous faculty and staff across public post-secondary institutions in Western Canada. Using iterative inductive and deductive thematic analysis, we coded semantic and latent meanings related to participants' desires to remain with, or withdraw from, their organizations. Ethical Indigenous research wise practices were followed throughout. Findings Participants described a dynamic ecosystem of interconnected, multilevel relationships wherein relational mechanisms served to drive their staying and leaving cognitions, giving rise to a parallel paths retention model that both affirms and expands dominant desire to remain and turnover theories. System-level mechanisms (e.g. structural inequities) primarily “pushed” participants to contemplate leaving, while organization- and individual-level factors (e.g. community belonging) generally promoted staying cognitions. Relationality itself emerged as a primary pathway, with relational obligations extending beyond organizations to kin, community, land and future generations, thereby expanding dominant retention models by reframing retention as a relationally influenced decision rather than an isolated individual choice. Originality/value Offering an Indigenous relationality-centred perspective on retention and turnover, this study applies a parallel paths translational strategy to extend existing organizational theories in universally valuable ways. Importantly, we offer practical guidance for those seeking to move beyond performative gestures towards purposeful action that cultivates brave relational cultural transformation, thereby supporting Indigenous – and ultimately all – employees' desires to remain.