The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement in the Relationship between Flexible Work Arrangements and Turnover Intentions among Highly Educated Employees in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between flexible working arrangements (FWA) and turnover intentions (TI), as well as the mediation effect of employee engagement (EE) in the relationship between flexible working arrangements and turnover intentions. The main research question is: what is the nature of the effect of flexible working arrangements on employees' turnover intention, and the role of employee engagement in this relationship? The methodology of the paper consists of theoretical (literature review) and empirical parts (field research). The empirical research was performed on a sample of 514 highly educated employees from service sector organizations that operate in the Republic of Serbia. Sample collection lasted from January to October 2022, via Google Forms. The proposed relationships were tested by using the PLS-SEM method, with the application of the SmartPLS software. The main findings of the research are that there are direct positive effects of flexible work arrangements and employee engagement on turnover intentions, and that employee engagement has an indirect effect on the relationship between flexible work arrangements and turnover intentions. A partial mediation was found. Employees who are offered flexible work arrangements decrease their turnover intentions when they are more engaged at work.

Keywords: Republic of Serbia; attitudes of employees; employee engagement; flexible work arrangements; turnover intentions.

Figure 1

Path coefficient estimates. Source: The authors’ research.

Figure 2

The path model with bootstrapping result. Source: The authors’ research.