THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS, PSYCHOLOGICAL NEED SATISFACTION AND THWARTING, AND AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT ON WORKERS' WELL-BEING AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS

The purpose of the present research was twofold: 1) examine the mediating role of need satisfaction and need thwarting in the relationships of task variety, role conflict, and perceived leader support on affective commitment; and 2) examine whether affective commitment leads to positive affect, cynicism, and turnover intentions. We tested a model in which task variety, role conflict, and perceived leader support independently predicted satisfaction and thwarting of workers' needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn predicted affective commitment. The hypothesized model also posited that affective commitment related positively to positive affect, and negatively to cynicism and turnover intentions. Results from a sample of 129 executive MBA students provided support for the hypotheses. The present findings underscore the importance of understanding the mechanisms through which social factors relate to workers' well-being and turnover intentions.