Turnover Intention Among Generation Z Employees: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62872/jenxm484Keywords:
Turnover Intention, Generation Z, Organizational Support, Employee Engagement, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
Employee turnover intention remains a critical organizational issue, particularly among Generation Z employees who are entering the workforce and exhibiting high early-career mobility. Despite extensive turnover research, empirical findings on Generation Z remain conceptually fragmented and insufficiently consolidated. This study aims to systematically review empirical research on turnover intention among Generation Z employees and identify the dominant determinants influencing their intention to leave. A systematic literature review (SLR) approach was adopted, drawing on Scopus and Web of Science databases within the 2019–2025 publication timeframe. Following a structured screening process, 20 peer-reviewed empirical studies were included in the final synthesis. The findings indicate that organizational-level factors—particularly perceived organizational support, leadership quality, and career development opportunities—are the most consistent predictors of turnover intention. However, these determinants largely operate indirectly through psychological mediators, including job satisfaction, affective commitment, work engagement, psychological capital, and job embeddedness. Affective commitment emerged as the most robust explanatory mechanism across diverse national contexts, suggesting that Generation Z retention decisions are fundamentally relational and emotionally anchored rather than purely transactional. The study contributes by consolidating dispersed evidence into an integrated framework and offers practical guidance for organizations to prioritize relational leadership, developmental HR practices, and psychologically supportive environments to enhance retention among Generation Z employees.
Downloads
References
Ahmad, S., & Kaleem, A. (2019). Zooming in on the Workplace Bullying and Turnover Intentions Pathway. Personnel Review, 49(2), 425–444. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-06-2018-0214
Azanza, G., Moriano, J. A., Molero, F., & Mangin, J.-P. L. (2015). The Effects of Authentic Leadership on Turnover Intention. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(8), 955–971. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj-03-2014-0056
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. Wiley.
Chillakuri, B. (2020). Examining the Role of Supervisor Support on Generation Z’s Intention to Quit. American Business Review, 23(2), 408–430. https://doi.org/10.37625/abr.23.2.408-430
Danko, L., Bednář, P., Voštová, K., & Harušťáková, Š. (2023). Modeling determinants of the Generation Z regional perception on the periphery: To stay or to leave. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 21(2), 233–243. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(2).2023.25
Elgeka, H. W. S., Hidayat, R., & Pratono, A. H. (2025). Developing and validating a scale for assessing job net value: A case study of Generation Z employees. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 51. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v51i0.2308
Gaan, N., & Shin, Y. (2023). Generation Z software employees turnover intention. Current Psychology, 42(31), 27344–27359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03847-9
Giang, P. X., Ghi, T. N., & Yen, N. T. N. (2024). Factors affecting GEN Z’s intention to leave jobs in Vietnam. International Journal of Management and Sustainability, 13(3), 697–709. https://doi.org/10.18488/11.v13i3.3856
Guslina, I., Rinzani, A., Mantong, J., Moeins, A., & Kabul, E. R. (2025). A Quantitative Study on Leadership and Gen Z’s Job Satisfaction: Its Impact on Employee Retention in The Private Sector in Indonesia. International Journal of Accounting and Economics Studies, 12(5), 188–195. https://doi.org/10.14419/79pc6586
Harari, M. B., Parola, H. R., Hartwell, C. J., & Riegelman, A. (2020). Literature Searches in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: A Review, Evaluation, and Recommendations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 118, 103377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103377
Hong, Y., Ford, M. T., & Jong, J. (2024). Employee Benefit Availability, Use, and Subjective Evaluation: A Meta-Analysis of Relationships With Perceived Organizational Support, Affective Organizational Commitment, Withdrawal, Job Satisfaction, and Well-Being. Journal of Applied Psychology, 109(12), 1921–1947. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001202
Kim, S. H., Park, C. Y., Shin, S. M., Shin, S. H., Choe, G., Hwang, D. Y., Chae, Y. H., & Kim, G.-H. (2025). Influences of Generation Z Characteristics on Job Embeddedness and Turnover Intention. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration, 31(3), 291–301. https://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2024.0050
Le, H., Lee, J., Nielsen, I., & Nguyen, T. L. A. (2022). Turnover Intentions: The Roles of Job Satisfaction and Family Support. Personnel Review, 52(9), 2209–2228. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-08-2021-0582
Lee, M. S., & Shin, S. (2025). Factors affecting the turnover intention of newly graduated Generation Z nurses in Korea: multilevel analysis. Human Resources for Health, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-025-01011-5
Li, J. J., Lee, T., Mitchell, T. R., Hom, P. W., & Griffeth, R. W. (2016). The Effects of Proximal Withdrawal States on Job Attitudes, Job Searching, Intent to Leave, and Employee Turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(10), 1436–1456. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000147
Lyngdoh, T., Chefor, E., Hochstein, B., Britton, B. P., & Amyx, D. (2021). A Systematic Literature Review of Negative Psychological States and Behaviors in Sales. Journal of Business Research, 122, 518–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.031
Mac, M. T. H., Thuy, N. T. L., Tran, T. C., & Minh, N. T. H. (2025). EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RECRUITMENT PROCESS AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS WITH MEDIATING ROLE OF AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR EUROPEAN ENTERPRISES. Central European Business Review, 14(2), 93–117. https://doi.org/10.18267/j.cebr.382
Majumdarr, S., & Dasgupta, S. A. (2024). Understanding Why Do We Stay In our Jobs? A Bibliometric And content Analysis of Job Embeddedness in the Past Two Decades (2001–2021). Employee Relations, 46(2), 309–339. https://doi.org/10.1108/er-12-2022-0549
Protsiuk, O. (2025). The mediation effect of supervisor support and total rewards on the relationship between flexible work arrangements and turnover intentions in Gen Z. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 33(5), 1349–1367. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-04-2024-4418
Sharma, N., & Chillakuri, B. (2022). Positive Deviance at Work: A Systematic Review and Directions for Future Research. Personnel Review, 52(4), 933–954. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-05-2020-0360
Thapa, S., Pandey, S. C., Panda, S., Paswan, A. K., & Ghimire, A. (2022). Vaping among youth: reasons, realization and intention to quit. Young Consumers, 23(4), 512–538. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-12-2021-1429
Tran, T.-T., Nguyen, T.-T., & Nguyen, N.-T. (2025). Determinants influencing job-hopping behavior and turnover intention: An investigation among Gen Z in the marketing field. Asia Pacific Management Review, 30(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2025.100358
Wikhamn, W., Asplund, K., & Dries, N. (2020). Identification With Management and the Organisation as Key Mechanisms in Explaining Employee Reactions to Talent Status. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(4), 956–976. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12335
Xie, D., & Takahashi, K. (2021). Economic, Organizational and Psychological Determinants of Early Turnover: Evidence From a Pharmaceutical Company in China. Employee Relations, 44(2), 356–370. https://doi.org/10.1108/er-02-2021-0061
Yao, J., Lim, S., Guo, C. Y., Ou, A. Y., & Ng, J. W. X. (2022). Experienced Incivility in the Workplace: A Meta-Analytical Review of Its Construct Validity and Nomological Network. Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(2), 193–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000870
Zimmerman, R. D., Swider, B. W., Woo, S. E., & Allen, D. G. (2016). Who Withdraws? Psychological Individual Differences and Employee Withdrawal Behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(4), 498–519. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000068
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Indra Taruna Anggapradja, Darwis Agustriyana, Vina Silviani Marinda (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






