Psychological empowerment, work engagement and turnover Intention: the role of leader relations and role clarity in a financial Institution

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between leader-member exchange, role clarity, psychological empowerment,
 engagement and turnover intention within a financial institution in South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was
 used. A convenience sample (N = 278) was taken (males =31%, females =60%; 88% younger than 35 years; 57% with 2 – 5
 years service) from the total population (N = 889). They completed the Leader-Member Exchange Questionnaire (Liden,
 Wayne, & Stilwell, 1993) Role Conflict and Ambiguity Questionnaire (Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970), Measuring
 Empowerment Questionnaire (Spreitzer, 1995), Engagement Questionnaire (May, Gilson, & Harter, 2004) and
 Intention-to-leave Scale (Sjöberg & Sverke, 2000). A path model was tested with SPSS to determine the relationships of
 the variables. Furthermore, a theoretical model was tested through the use of structural equation modelling (Arbuckle,
 2008). The latent variables included LMX (consisting of two parcels), role clarity (consisting of two parcels),
 psychological empowerment (consisting of four variables, namely meaning, competence, impact, and
 self-determination), work engagement (consisting of two parcels), and turnover intention (a manifest variable). Role
 clarity mediated the relationship between leader-member exchange and psychological empowerment, while
 psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between role clarity and work engagement as well as turnover
 intention. Leader-member relations lead to better understanding of roles, while role clarity empowers and engages
 employees.