Develop to better retain? The impact of job satisfaction and working modalities

Purpose Organisational practices for competence development (OPCD) have been widely addressed, both by trends such as upskilling and reskilling, and by international and even legislative bodies. The purpose of this study was to investigate how competence development impacts employees’ turnover intentions, considering the mediation of job satisfaction and the moderation of working modalities. Design/methodology/approach This is a quantitative, cross-sectional and correlational study. The sample consists of 833 individuals active in the Portuguese labour market and aged at least 18 years and is non-probabilistic and geometrically distributed. Findings The results showed that when investment in OPCD increases, employee turnover intentions decrease significantly and satisfaction levels increase. Satisfaction has a negative and significant association with turnover intentions. Job satisfaction proved to be the explanatory mechanism for this phenomenon, but the moderating effect of working modalities on the relationships described was not verified. Originality/value The diversity and volume of competence development opportunities lead to a greater awareness of investment in employees, which in turn increases their levels of satisfaction. Thus, in sectors or even roles where turnover is high and there is a so-called “war for talent,” this practice increases the likelihood of retaining employees.