Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationships among perceived organizational support,
positive relationships at work and intent to turnover through a social exchange theory lens. The main
contribution of this paper is the investigation of different types of positive workplace relationships on
employee withdrawal behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach – A 49-item survey was developed through a review of literature
related to positive workplace relationships and intent to turnover. Surveys were made available to 200
healthcare employees; 73 surveys were accurately completed and used to test a mediated model of
positive relationships at work.
Findings – Positive relationships at work were found to have a mediating effect between perceived
organizational support and intent to turnover. Additionally, perceived organizational support was
found to have direct and indirect effects on intent to turnover.
Practical implications – Managers can affect employees’ intentions to turnover by improving practices
that provide support to employees and encouraging positive relationships with coworkers. Additional
literature related to our variables of interest suggests that employees perceive more support when their
organizations offer commensurate rewards, opportunities for growth and participation in decision making.
Originality/value – This study speaks to those researchers and managers interested in employees’
motivations for staying in or leaving from their organizations. Turnover and related withdrawal behaviors
are expensive for organizations, so discovering the factors that members value offers organizations the
ability to affect their members’ intentions to turnover. Additionally, the exploration of relationships between
perceived organizational support and positive relationships at work suggests that different support
mechanisms play different roles in affecting organizational and individual outcomes.