Social undermining and coping mechanisms as predictors of turnover intentions among healthcare workers in Ghana
- 1University of Cape Coast
Abstract
The study examined how social undermining influence turnover intention among healthcare employees in Ghana, while assessing the roles of cutting corners and spiritual intelligence (SI). The study used the Social Information Processing Theory (SIP) to explore how employees interpret and respond to negative social cues within their work environment. The quantitative approach and an explanatory design were used. Again, data was collected through structured questionnaires and analysed using structural equation modeling partial least square. The results revealed that supervisor social undermining had a significant positive effect on turnover intention, emphasizing the critical role of supervisory behavior in shaping perceptions of fairness and trust. Patient social undermining also significantly predicted turnover intention, showing the emotional burden of hostile patient interactions. Coworker social undermining did not directly predict turnover but influenced it indirectly through cutting corners, indicating behavioral disengagement as a coping response. Cutting corners fully mediated coworker undermining and partially mediated supervisor and patient undermining, confirming that maladaptive coping bridges social mistreatment and withdrawal. Moreover, spiritual intelligence moderated the relationship between supervisor undermining and turnover intention, suggesting that employees with higher SI reinterpret negative cues constructively and are less likely to quit. The study contributes to HRM theory by integrating SI into the SIP framework, highlighting how meaning-making and coping processes shape turnover intention in healthcare settings.
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BibTeX
@article{boateng2026social,
title = {{Social undermining and coping mechanisms as predictors of turnover intentions among healthcare workers in Ghana}},
author = {Richard Kofi Boateng and Salomey Ofori Appiah and Dorothy Amfo-Antiri and Edna Naa Okorley and Isaac Tetteh Kwao and Emmanuel Essandoh and Felix Kwame Opoku},
journal = {Discover Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s12982-026-03113-4},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-03113-4},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Social undermining and coping mechanisms as predictors of turnover intentions among healthcare workers in Ghana
AU - Richard Kofi Boateng
AU - Salomey Ofori Appiah
AU - Dorothy Amfo-Antiri
AU - Edna Naa Okorley
AU - Isaac Tetteh Kwao
AU - Emmanuel Essandoh
AU - Felix Kwame Opoku
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Discover Public Health
DO - 10.1186/s12982-026-03113-4
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-03113-4
AB - The study examined how social undermining influence turnover intention among healthcare employees in Ghana, while assessing the roles of cutting corners and spiritual intelligence (SI). The study used the Social Information Processing Theory (SIP) to explore how employees interpret and respond to negative social cues within their work environment. The quantitative approach and an explanatory design were used. Again, data was collected through structured questionnaires and analysed using structural equation modeling partial least square. The results revealed that supervisor social undermining had a significant positive effect on turnover intention, emphasizing the critical role of supervisory behavior in shaping perceptions of fairness and trust. Patient social undermining also significantly predicted turnover intention, showing the emotional burden of hostile patient interactions. Coworker social undermining did not directly predict turnover but influenced it indirectly through cutting corners, indicating behavioral disengagement as a coping response. Cutting corners fully mediated coworker undermining and partially mediated supervisor and patient undermining, confirming that maladaptive coping bridges social mistreatment and withdrawal. Moreover, spiritual intelligence moderated the relationship between supervisor undermining and turnover intention, suggesting that employees with higher SI reinterpret negative cues constructively and are less likely to quit. The study contributes to HRM theory by integrating SI into the SIP framework, highlighting how meaning-making and coping processes shape turnover intention in healthcare settings.
SN - 3005-0774
ER -