Determinants of Migrant Workers’ Turnover Intentions in China: A Case Study of Manufacturing Factories in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

<p>Cheap labor in the Chinese economy has been one of the most important factors in the rapid growth in the country’s manufacturing industry, and many workers have migrated from poor rural areas to relatively developed coastal areas. However, because of the gradual decline of the working-age population in rural areas, the supply of migrant labors began to stagnate in the early-2010s, while the wage levels of migrant workers continue to rise. Under these circumstances, it is increasingly important to improve human resource management for migrant workers to facilitate their embeddedness and commitment to the workplace as well as to reduce their turnover. To examine the mechanisms of turnover among migrant workers using Structural Equation Modeling, we conducted a survey of manufacturing factory employees in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The results of the estimation show that both job embeddedness and job satisfaction significantly enhance the organizational commitment of employees to their workplaces, and that higher organizational commitment among migrant workers significantly reduces their turnover intentions. Furthermore, when dividing migrant workers into two age groups (younger than 25 years and 25 years or older), on-the-job embeddedness exhibits significant positive effects on organizational commitment for only the younger age group, while in both age groups, higher organizational commitment significantly reduces turnover intentions. These results suggest that detailed job instructions and considerate training for young migrant workers would be beneficial for improving their embeddedness in the workplace, resulting in higher organizational commitment and lower turnover.</p>