Job Characteristics, Work Engagement and Turnover Intention in the Serbian Hospitality Industry

Abstract

Research Question: This study examines the relationships among job characteristics, work engagement, and turnover intention among employees in Serbia’s hospitality industry. Motivation: Employee retention remains a persistent challenge in hospitality because service quality and organisational competitiveness depend heavily on a stable, engaged workforce. Although prior research has linked job characteristics with employee attitudes and turnover intention, the process by which job design translates into employees’ willingness to stay with or leave an organisation remains insufficiently explained. This gap is particularly evident in transitional economies, where labour-market conditions and human resource practices may differ from those in more developed contexts. The study therefore examines how favourable job characteristics may foster work engagement and, through that psychological mechanism, relate to lower turnover intention. Idea: This research integrates the Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham, 1976) and Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964) into a single framework, while relying on earlier research on employee engagement (Saks, 2006). In this context, favourable job characteristics, including autonomy, meaningfulness, and feedback, are expected to be associated with stronger work engagement, which in turn is associated with lower turnover intention. Data: Data were collected in 2025 through an anonymous electronic survey of 150 employees working in three-, four-, and five-star hotels in Belgrade (7), Novi Sad (5), Vrnjačka Banja (4), and Zlatibor (4). Established multi-item measures, adapted for the study, were used to assess job characteristics, work engagement, and turnover intention. Tools: The study used a quantitative cross-sectional design. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, multiple regression analysis, and bootstrapped mediation analysis. Results: More favourable perceptions of job characteristics were associated with higher work engagement, while higher work engagement was associated with lower turnover intention. After including work engagement and the control variables in the model, job characteristics were no longer directly associated with turnover intention. The mediation analysis indicated an indirect association between job characteristics and turnover intention through work engagement. These findings are consistent with the proposed model, in which job characteristics relate to retention-oriented attitudes partly through employees’ psychological involvement in their work. The results remain limited to the observed convenience sample and cross-sectional design. Contribution: The study extends hospitality research by explaining how work engagement links job characteristics with turnover intention in the Serbian hospitality industry.