Not All Leaving Is Created Equal Differentiating the Factors of Organizational and Occupational Turnover Intentions

Drawing on social cognitive career theory (SCOT) and the focus-congruence approach, this study examines how organizational and occupational turnover is differently influenced by work-related factors. Using a sample of 2,353 teachers in rural China, results first showed that negative relationships between organization-focused predictors (i.e., leader support, colleague support, and physical resources for work) and organizational turnover intentions were significant. Similarly, the negative relationship between occupation-focused predictors (i.e., occupational satisfaction, salary satisfaction, and occupational choice motivations) and occupational turnover intentions was also significant. Moreover, occupation-focused predictors have a stronger relationship with occupational turnover intentions than organizational turnover intentions, and vice versa. Implications for research and practice are discussed.