The association between intrinsic motivation and quiet quitting among healthcare workers in Türkiye: a cross-sectional study of the mediating roles of organizational identification and work engagement.

INTRODUCTION

This study examined the association between intrinsic motivation and quiet quitting among healthcare workers and whether this association was statistically mediated by organizational identification and work engagement.

METHODS

Data were collected from 313 hospital employees in Türkiye using an online questionnaire. Intrinsic motivation, organizational identification, work engagement, and quiet quitting were measured using previously validated scales. Mediation analyses were performed using PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Additional sensitivity analyses were conducted after controlling for profession, weekly working hours, shift type, age, and professional experience.

RESULTS

Intrinsic motivation was positively associated with organizational identification (β = 0.384, p < 0.001) and work engagement (β = 0.508, p < 0.001), and negatively associated with quiet quitting [total association: β = -0.319, 95% CI (-0.400, -0.235)]. Organizational identification (β = -0.154, p = 0.008) and work engagement (β = -0.204, p = 0.001) were both negatively associated with quiet quitting. After including the mediators, the direct association between intrinsic motivation and quiet quitting remained statistically significant [β = -0.157, 95% CI (-0.262, -0.032)], indicating statistical partial mediation. Significant indirect associations were observed through organizational identification [β = -0.059, 95% CI (-0.102, -0.012)] and work engagement [β = -0.103, 95% CI (-0.177, -0.022)].

DISCUSSION: Intrinsic motivation was negatively associated with quiet quitting among hospital employees, and this association was statistically partially mediated by organizational identification and work engagement. These findings suggest that employees' psychological attachment to their organization and their engagement with work may represent important mechanisms underlying the observed association.