ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS AMONG HOSPITALITY EMPLOYEES IN CAPE COAST

The hospitality industry has gained much attention following its enormous contributions to economies. The job satisfaction of employees has been remarked to lead to higher productivity in the hospitality industry. This study explored the effects of employees' job satisfaction and their intention to quit. Through a quantitative research approach using regression models and descriptive statistics, the study analyzed 40 questionnaire responses from employees. The analyses revealed a significant negative relationship between job satisfaction and the turnover intention of employees. The results showed that the socio-demographics of respondents are relevant to their job happiness. It was revealed that employees had fair satisfaction with their jobs, although promotion and work conditions barely influenced their satisfaction. Based on these findings, the study recommended further practice and research.

The hospitality industry has gained much attention following its enormous contributions to economies.The job satisfaction of employees has been remarked to lead to higher productivity in the hospitality industry.This study explored the effects of employees' job satisfaction and their intention to quit.Through a quantitative research approach using regression models and descriptive statistics, the study analyzed 40 questionnaire responses from employees.The analyses revealed a significant negative relationship between job satisfaction and the turnover intention of employees.The results showed that the sociodemographics of respondents are relevant to their job happiness.It was revealed that employees had fair satisfaction with their jobs, although promotion and work conditions barely influenced their satisfaction.Based on these findings, the study recommended further practice and research.

INTRODUCTION
The hospitality industry is one of the most significant sources of support for tourists and locals.According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in 2017, the hospitality industry accounted for 10% of the global gross domestic product and employed one-tenth of the world's population.The hospitality industry in Ghana has been ranked fourth for profitmaking.The industry provides jobs, comfort, and other relevant human-related services.Chang and Tanford (2018) reveal that the hospitality industry recruits and maintains employees to increase performance (Lee & Ravichandran, 2019).The hospitality industry employs most of the workforce in most countries.Within the hospitality industry, employees seek to satisfy their demands.As such, many studies have explored job satisfaction in the hospitality industry (Daud, 2016;Gopinath, 2020;Mendoza, 2019;Rahman & Iqbal, 2013).
Regardless of the strategy of a hospitality organization, Enrico (2019) asserted that only a little can be accomplished with the capacity of satisfied employees.The experience, role, ambitions, and work expectations influence an individual's satisfaction with work (Gopinath, 2016).Gopinath (2020) explained that job satisfaction has the positive outcome of minimizing employee turnover and absenteeism and improving organizational commitment.Tahir and Sajid (2019) revealed that job satisfaction promotes the well-being of employees, which positively affects organizational performance in the long run.Satisfied employees exhibit a more significant commitment to their work and tend to have higher retention and productivity rates.
The relevance of job satisfaction cannot be downplayed in the hospitality industry: ensuring a sustainable workplace (Aon, 2020), reducing high staff turnover, and promoting loyalty (Strenitzerová & Achimský, 2019), satisfied employees can satisfy customers (George & KA, 2015).Several factors have been identified to promote job satisfaction in the hospitality industry.Norbu and Wetprasit (2021) conceptualized employees' motivation as crucial to ensuring employees' job satisfaction and retaining them.Others include organizational values (Gorenak et al., 2020) and loyalty (Phuong & Tran, 2020).Research has indicated the relevance of job satisfaction in the hospitality industry (Appiah, 2019;Farrukh et al., 2020;Pradhan, 2022); nonetheless, most employees have been reported to leave their jobs or intend to.Many studies, as have been cited, have been done on employee performance, organizational performance, job commitment, and job satisfaction, but these studies present a lacuna as far as the intention to quit is concerned.Some researchers believe that the determinants of job satisfaction may vary from country to country, affecting the relationship with employees' turnover intentions (Nica, 2016).Although studies linking turnover intentions and job satisfaction have been the focus of social scientists for decades, these efforts have predominated in Western and European contexts and, more recently, in the Middle East and Asia.Similar efforts are now appearing in Africa, but the distribution could be more balanced, with many publications coming from Eastern and Southern Africa (Field, 2013;Masum et al., 2016).In this regard, the study aims to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intentions among hospitality employees in Cape Coast, driven by the need to investigate the effects of job satisfaction on employees' intention to quit.By doing so, this study contributes to the understanding of employees' satisfaction levels with their jobs.Specifically, the study seeks to: 1) Investigate the factors that influence employees' job satisfaction in hospitality facilities in Cape Coast.2) Assess the correlation between job satisfaction and turnover intention among employees in the hospitality industry in Cape Coast.
The study also attempts to test one null hypothesis: H1: There is no significant relationship between employees' job satisfaction and their turnover intention

Social Exchange Theory
The study is based on the social exchange theory, a highly influential theory that explains how humans interact with each other regarding attitudes and behaviors.Yin (2018) emphasized that the social exchange theory (SET) was initially used to describe human relationships.According to the SET, employees tend to have a positive attitude towards their organization and job satisfaction if they perceive that they are being paid fairly, reducing the likelihood of leaving the organization (Chan & Ao, 2019).The theory is based on the principle of reciprocity, which means that when one party receives favorable treatment, they feel obligated to reciprocate with favorable treatment in return.Conversely, if negative treatment is experienced, the response will likely be negative, resulting in poor behavior (Huang et al., 2016).
According to Kataria et al. (2013), the social exchange theory (SET) forms the basis of the relationship between organization members and their respective organizations.In the workplace, employees and the organization are considered two exchange partners, with employees feeling obliged to reciprocate favorable treatment and benefits provided by the organization, usually through their job satisfaction (Ngo et al., 2013).When a manager provides for his employees' needs, employees express positive work attitudes toward their job (Karatepe, 2016).Redmond (2015) summarizes that an absence of equity in the exchange creates tension leading to turnover intentions.Cropanzano et al. (2001) operationalized the theory to constitute three parts: an initial action, a relationship between parties, and a reciprocating response.Applying this scope to the study, it can be deduced that employees need to be offered satisfactory needs such as collaborative supervision, incentives, and other rewards; they build a relationship of dissatisfaction with the hospitality organization, and the reciprocating response is the intent to quit the job.
While social exchange theory (SET) is widely recognized in the literature, it has also attracted constructive criticism.For instance, Jeong and Oh (2017) highlighted theoretical ambiguities and empirical needs, while Cropanzano et al. (2017) bemoaned frequent misunderstandings of the general SET model.These criticisms reflect the limited utility of the theory (Cropanzano et al., 2017).Nonetheless, SET remains a crucial foundation for understanding the roles played by organizations, supervisors, and employees in their relationships, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions.In the hospitality industry context, SET underpins efforts to improve job satisfaction and decrease employee turnover.According to Yin (2018), SET emphasizes that interpersonal interactions are based on balancing giving and receiving.

Job Satisfaction and its Dimensions
There are multiple definitions of job satisfaction available in the literature.For instance, Ngatuni and Matolo (2018) defined it as an emotional state linked to the positive or negative appraisal of job experiences.Martin (2020) described it as the emotional state of employees derived from the pleasure gained from their work.Alternatively, we define job satisfaction as an overall evaluation of the favorability of one's job.Generally, when employees evaluate their work environment positively, they feel satisfied with their job.Since some operations in the hospitality industry involve interpersonal communication between guests and employees, it is difficult for employees with low satisfaction to provide proper services to guests.The emotional reaction that affects organizational performance, and job satisfaction, is influenced by both personal and organizational factors.Several scholars have identified factors that impact employees' job satisfaction (Field, 2013;Mishra, 2013).From the review on job satisfaction, Alshamey (2019) suggested different aspects of the job that factor in the satisfaction of employees.Funmilola et al. (2013) stated that five critical job dimensions were commonly found to influence the job satisfaction level of employees within any industry, particularly hospitality.In this regard, the study finds identifying the critical dimensions or factors relevant.These include work, pay, promotional opportunities, supervision, and working conditions.These five dimensions in Figure 1 are considered more significant in investigating the satisfaction levels of employees in different industries, including hotels and tourism (Alshamey, 2019).Issa et al. (2013) found that the five dimensions of job satisfaction -work, work conditions (co-workers), promotion, supervision, and pay satisfaction -were significantly negatively correlated with turnover intention.Higher levels of job satisfaction in these dimensions reduce an employee's intention to quit.

Turnover Intention or Intention to Quit
According to Snell et al. (2013), employee turnover refers to the "movement of employees out of an organization" (p.93), while Shen et al. (2020) elaborate that it also includes the intention to change organizations or exit the labor market entirely voluntarily.As turnover negatively impacts both organizations and individuals, it is a crucial behavior for managers to monitor.This negative impact includes reduced productivity, team disruption, increased recruitment, training, development, related costs, and loss of knowledge.Therefore, studying the intention to leave is more valuable than the actual leaving.The intention to leave is related to many antecedents; job satisfaction is an example.
The determinants of employee turnover in organizations are multifaceted and can be classified into individual work-related factors and integrative factors such as job satisfaction, pay, promotion, and working conditions (Mendis, 2017).In addition, demographic variables such as age, tenure, level of education, income, job category, and gender have been found to significantly impact employee retention and turnover intention significantly.Various practices have been recommended, including investing in training, providing organizational support, implementing innovative recruitment and selection processes, and offering better career opportunities to improve job satisfaction and reduce turnover.Organizations must prioritize these factors to retain valuable employees who can contribute significantly to their success.

Research Approach
Our research followed a quantitative design, which Creswell (2017) noted promotes objectivity in interpreting responses through a standardized measure.Specifically, we employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey method within the quantitative research design.This method involves collecting and analyzing data to describe or evaluate practices, events, or occurrences.This method was chosen because it provided statistical tools for analyzing data and revealing the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention.\

Population and Data Collection
The target population for the study comprised hospitality organizations in Cape Coast.The justification for this is that Cape Coast has been noted for its tourist attractions, which are directly linked to hospitality facilities.However, the accessible population for the study was three (3) hospitality organizations: Sasakawa Guest House, Institute of Education Chalets, and School of Business Guest House, located at the University of Cape Coast.These places are renowned for providing students, lecturers, and visitors with hospitality services.We sought consent from the organizational heads through an introductory letter.
The research objectives were evaluated by questionnaires obtained from Issa et al. (2013), which were the principal instrument used.The researchers adopted the questionnaire as an instrument for two reasons: it has been scientifically tested and widely used, and it has high reliability and objectivity.Therefore, due to the aim of this study to collect data within a relatively short time frame, the use of a questionnaire was appropriate.The questionnaire consisted of two sections.The first section focused on collecting demographic data on the respondents, while the second section collected data on the respondents' job satisfaction and turnover intentions.To ascertain the instrument's reliability, the researchers presented the adapted questionnaire to two experts for constructive review.Through their feedback, we checked for inconsistencies and flawed values.We ensured the quality of the data collected and its consistency with the study's objectives.
To secure the willingness of the heads of the targeted organization, we presented an introductory letter to the heads together with the questionnaire.An appointed date and time were scheduled for administering the questionnaires based on the agreement between the researchers and the various organizational heads.The questionnaire was administered to the participants based on their availability.The researchers guided the employees through this process of answering the questions.It was done not to intimidate or influence their responses but to explain some terms to them and ensure the provision of suitable responses.This process was completed within one week (five working days).This study adhered to ethical considerations such as obtaining informed consent from participants, ensuring the confidentiality and anonymity of participants, and ensuring that the research did not harm participants in any way.

Data Analysis Procedure
The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 25.0) designed for the Windows operating system.The first step in the analysis process was entering the collected data into SPSS.The researchers ensured that the data from each completed questionnaire was correctly entered and that any incomplete questionnaires were excluded from this process.This step was crucial to maintaining the data analysis's integrity and accuracy.Descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, percentages, tables, and frequencies, were employed to determine the direction of the responses and establish the relationship.These statistics were also presented in tables to make the data easier to understand.Inferential statistics, specifically regression analysis and the Pearson coefficient, were utilized to test the hypothesis regarding the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention.Before running any inferential statistics, the data were checked for completeness and consistency.This was an essential step to ensure the validity of later statistical tests.The statistical significance of the regression and correlation coefficients was checked to ascertain if job satisfaction significantly predicts turnover intention.

Descriptive Features of Respondents
This section focuses on the personal characteristics of forty (40) employees from whom data was collected.Their characteristics are presented in Table 1.These characteristics can be used to broadly understand the distribution among the sampled employees.The percentages are approximated to the nearest whole number.From Table 1, the sex distribution of the respondents revealed that the majority of the employees were female.60% were females, while the males were 40%.Despite percentage differences, Amissah et al. (2016) found a relatively higher number of males than females in their study, despite this representation.Nonetheless, Akova et al. (2015) reported significant gender differences in which male employees indicated more job satisfaction than female employees.In terms of age, the distribution was the same across all the items.It was recorded that 45% of the respondents were between the ages of 21-30.35% were found to be between the ages of 31-40.While 15% were aged between 41-50, a percentage of 5% was indicated above the age of 51.The study confirms from the data that the hospitality organizations in the selected location employ more youth for work.Table 3 presents the educational background of the employees in the organization.From Table 3, 10% of the respondents have primary education, compared to 50% with secondary education and 40% with tertiary education.The study found that none of the employees had any form of education.The study shows that hospitality organizations value professionalism through the educational backgrounds of their employees.However, according to previous literature, most employees should have a tertiary qualification.The income of employees is relevant since they use it for socioeconomic purposes.The data revealed that 62.5% had an income between 600-1000 cedis.25% of the respondents indicated their pay to be between 1100-1500 cedis.12.5% of the respondents received an income of 1600 cedis and above.The study presents that since most employees still need tertiary education and have fewer years of service, such factors lead to their minimum payment.From the literature, Amissah et al. (2016) revealed the importance of pay in job satisfaction.In a recent study, Asnawi and Sulaiman (2021) discovered that income mediates employee job satisfaction.

Level of Job Satisfaction of Employees
The level of satisfaction of employees in the hospitality industry in the selected location is determined by a Pearson regression model.The descriptive options are presented according to the dimensions of job satisfaction, depending on the level of satisfaction.The regression model is presented as Job satisfaction = β0 + β1(Pay) + β2(Promotion) + β3(Supervision) + β4(Work itself) + β5(Work condition) + ε.Mean and standard deviation was used to support the model.The results of the data are presented in Tables 5 and 6.The results in Table 5 demonstrate that pay, supervision, work itself, and work conditions statistically significantly influence job satisfaction, given that their p-values are below 0.05.Conversely, promotion does not significantly affect job satisfaction, as its p-value is above 0.05.The coefficient for work is the highest, indicating that it substantially impacts job satisfaction among all the independent variables.Table 6 shows that the employees in hospitality organizations are dissatisfied with their pay (mean = 2.90, SD = 1.561).The dissatisfaction level is moderate, as the mean score is skewed to an average level.With the promotion and supervision dimensions, the respondents showed a fair satisfaction level: promotion (mean = 3.30, SD = 1.291) and supervision (mean = 3.73, SD = 1.285).Regarding the level of satisfaction with the 'work itself,' the respondents expressed a slight dissatisfaction with a mean of 2.63 and SD of 1.474.Finally, there was a moderate satisfaction level with the 'work condition' in the organization (mean = 3.03, SD = 1.402).From the analysis, there was a high measure of spread in the responses, which depicts the diverse perspective of the employees.Given the mean means of 3.12 and a mean, standard deviation of 1.403, the study confirms that employees are slightly satisfied with their organizational jobs.

Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention
The relationship between job satisfaction and employees' turnover intention is a better way to understand turnover intentions.This portion examines the regression analysis to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention.Table 5 presents the results of the analysis.The regression model presented in Table 7 specifies the relationship between turnover intention and job satisfaction: Turnover intention = β0 + β1(Job satisfaction) + ε.The beta coefficient measures the impact of the independent variable (job satisfaction) on the dependent variable (turnover intention) for each unit change.As shown in the regression output, job satisfaction has a significant negative effect on turnover intention, with a coefficient of -0.47 (p < 0.001), rejecting the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention.

Discussion
Based on the survey analysis results, pay, supervision, and work itself are essential factors that influence employees' job satisfaction in hospitality facilities in Cape Coast.In contrast, promotion and work conditions may have less impact.Pay emerged as a significant influencer of job satisfaction.This aligns with earlier research, such as that by Serreqi (2020) and Amissah et al. (2016), which indicated that pay plays a vital role in job satisfaction.In the hospitality industry context, where wage levels are often contentious, our findings underscore the importance of competitive remuneration in promoting employee satisfaction.
Similarly, the quality of supervision was found to impact job satisfaction significantly.This finding is supported by previous research by Issa et al. (2013), suggesting that the relationship with a supervisor can significantly influence an employee's work satisfaction.The nature of work also emerged as a critical factor influencing job satisfaction, resonating with Hackman and Oldham's (1976) Job Characteristics Model, which posits that job satisfaction is heavily influenced by the nature of the work itself, including its meaningfulness and the degree of autonomy it affords.However, our study diverges from previous research concerning the impact of promotion opportunities and work conditions on job satisfaction.While these have been identified as significant factors in some studies (e.g., Razak et al., 2018;Tasman et al., 2021), they did not emerge as such in our analysis within the context of Cape Coast's hospitality facilities.This could be due to unique regional or industry-specific conditions and suggests that these factors may not be universally applicable or equally weighted across different contexts.The results of the level of employees' job satisfaction confirmed other scholars' findings (Amissah et al., 2016;Santa Cruz et al., 2014).Amissah et al. (2016) confirmed the overall job satisfaction of employees in the hotel industry in Ghana.Amissah et al. (2016) subjected their findings to variations in context given the various indicators for job satisfaction.In summary, the study indicates that employees in the hospitality industry have an average level of job satisfaction, which was determined by measuring different facets of job satisfaction.This finding is consistent with previous studies.
Concerning the hypothesis, the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention has been a subject of interest and study for many researchers over the years, and our results align with these prior studies.For instance, Chen and Qi (2022), Karatepe (2016), Li and Yao (2022), and Mulang ( 2022) have all carried out investigations into this relationship, and our findings harmonize with the trends they have noticed.Our research indicates a significant negative effect of job satisfaction on turnover intention.In other words, the higher the level of job satisfaction, the lower the likelihood of an employee intending to leave their current position.This outcome is not unique to our study but is in line with the findings of several other researchers.For example, Kim and Chung (2014) conducted a study that highlighted a negative correlation between job satisfaction and turnover intention.This finding implied that satisfied employees were less likely to consider leaving their jobs, a sentiment our research echoes.
Similarly, Mete and Sökmen (2017) also observed this negative relationship.Their study underscored that satisfaction in one's job plays a significant role in reducing the desire or intent to change employment.The consistency of our findings with those of previous researchers emphasizes the robustness and validity of this observed relationship.It highlights the importance of job satisfaction in maintaining a stable workforce by minimizing turnover intentions.This consistently observed negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention underscores the importance for organizations to invest in employee satisfaction.

CONCLUSION
This study aimed to examine the correlation between job satisfaction and turnover intentions among hospitality employees in Cape Coast.The results showed that, based on the measurement of job satisfaction facets, hospitality employees are moderately satisfied with their job.The null hypothesis was rejected, as turnover intention showed a significant negative correlation with all job satisfaction factors except promotion and work conditions.Based on the findings, the management of the hospitality industry should provide a communication plan to seek employees' views during decisions concerning the organization.Second, the findings suggest that employers in the hospitality industry in Cape Coast should prioritize offering competitive pay, providing adequate supervision, and creating a positive work environment for employees.Finally, the study recommends that the management of the hospitality industries increase and maintain higher job satisfaction among their employees to prevent them from quitting their jobs.Concerning recommendations for further studies, it is recommended that further studies be conducted to determine the relationship between promotion and work conditions on a larger data scale.Second, during the data collection process, guests at one of the organizations expressed their willingness to be engaged in the study.In this regard, a study could analyze guests' satisfaction levels concerning the hospitality industry's services.

Figure 1
Figure 1 Dimensions of Job Satisfaction

Table 1
Sex of respondents

Table 2
Age of respondents

Table 3
Educational qualification of respondents

Table 4
Monthly income of respondents

Table 5
Regression results for determinants of job satisfaction

Table 6
Level of employees' job satisfaction

Table 7
Pearson correlation between job satisfaction and turnover intention