Job Stress And Turnover Intention:the Moderating Role Of Positive Affectivity

By analyzing existing literature on job stress and turnover intention, we can find many conflicts. Some believe a significant linear relationship between them, some not, others consider this relationship is U shape. This conflict manifests that some important variables have been overlooked. Person-Environment Fitness Theory believes variables of person and environment together determine whether stress generated or not and the degree of stress and individual’s capability of adapting the stress. Meanwhile, positive affectivity, as one of important variables about individual characteristics, is paid more and more attention and certified by a series of empirical researches having an important role in moderating effect. Therefore, this study first draws positive affectivity into the research of job stress and turnover intention.Again, we find the conflicts about the moderating effects of positive affectivity to stress source. The author takes these effects as buffering effect and amplifying effect. At present, there is no comprehensive analysis of these effects and we cannot say when these two effects function. This study believes these conflicts derive from one-side emphasizing of what is stress and neglecting the division of different extent of stress. U shape theory divides stress into high, medium, low levels of stress and provides a good opportunity to solve existing conflicts.This study, based on a questionnaire survey held in Tongzhou District, Nantong city during January2011, explores the relationship between job stress and turnover intention and the moderating effect of positive affectivity by double-factor variance analysis and hierarchical regression. Results suggest that, when job stress is low or high, individuals with high positive affectivity experience more turnover intention than those with low positive affectivity; when job stress is medium, individuals with high positive affectivity experience less turnover intention than those with low positive affectivity. Therefore, the moderating effect is significant and the conflict about buffering effect and amplifying effect is solved by their coexisting. When job stress is medium, buffering effect functions; when job stress is low or high, amplifying effect functions. Therefore, the study contributes to clarify the conflicts of linear relationship and U shape relationship between job stress and turnover intention and of buffering effect and amplifying effect of positive affectivity.