Employee Satisfaction and Retention in Service Organizations: The Moderating Role of Money Attitudes
AUTHORS
Andrew Collins,School of Business and Law, CQUniversity Australia
Michael O’Connor,School of Management, RMIT University
ABSTRACT
Employee retention remains a critical challenge for service organizations operating in competitive and labour-constrained economies such as Australia. High employee turnover not only increases recruitment and training costs but also undermines service quality and organizational performance in customer-facing industries. Drawing on a smart human resource management and analytics perspective, this study investigates the determinants of employee satisfaction and their impact on employee retention in service organizations, with particular attention to the moderating role of employees' attitudes toward money. Using cross-sectional survey data and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study examines the influence of organizational environment, customer orientation, and employee well-being on employee satisfaction and, subsequently, on retention intentions. The findings indicate that employee satisfaction plays a central mediating role in retention decisions, while attitudes toward money significantly moderate the relationship between satisfaction and retention. The study contributes to the literature on smart workforce management by offering empirical insights into how financial and non-financial factors jointly shape retention outcomes in service-sector contexts. Practical implications are discussed for managers and policymakers seeking to design sustainable retention strategies in developed service economies.
KEYWORDS
Employee satisfaction, Employee retention, Well-being, Customer orientation, Love for money, HR analytics, Service organizations
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