A Study on Factors Affecting Actual Employee Turnover in Hotel Businesses

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to determine the multidimensional factors driving hotel employees in Turkey—who left their jobs within the last year due to various issues but remained in the tourism sector—to actual turnover behavior, and to examine the relationships among these elements using a retrospective approach. Unlike the literature focusing on "turnover intention," this research aims to holistically reveal the systemic, structural, and relational dynamics underlying realized resignation decisions.
Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was adopted, utilizing a newly developed scale. Content validity was ensured through expert opinions, and construct validity was tested via Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on pilot data. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation analysis were used to identify the relationships among the factors.
Results – Findings indicate that the strongest drivers behind employees' resignation decisions are systemic issues related to organizational justice, such as the unfair distribution of salaries and inequitable promotion processes. A striking finding is that issues regarding job satisfaction and working conditions represent a widespread, chronic problem. Notably, this "job satisfaction and working conditions" factor showed no statistically significant relationship with any of the other seven factors, including justice, management, or social support.
Discussion – The research suggests that turnover behavior is deeply linked to justice issues and a lack of supportive leadership, indicating that purely material improvements may be insufficient for employee retention. It is evaluated that preventing high turnover requires establishing a transparent justice system and protective leadership practices.