Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, and Turnover Intention of Missionaries

Affective organizational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intention were surveyed in 468 missionaries. Tenure in the organization was a stronger predictor of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intention than was age (i.e., Generation X vs. older generations). Three models relating job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment to turnover intention were tested using structural equation modeling. When balancing model fit, and simplicity, one model was preferred—the model in which job satisfaction predicted affective organizational commitment, which in turn explained turnover intention. Mission agencies are encouraged to give greater attention to tenure than to age and to not ignore the role that job satisfaction plays in members’ commitment to the organization and intention to leave.