Staying or leaving? A nonlinear framework to explore the role of employee well-being on retention

Employee well-being has gained the attention of scholars and practitioners over the past two decades. However, despite the increasing number of theoretical works on the topic, empirical studies are still limited. In this study, we aim to define the well-being construct through an exploratory and data-driven approach, and examine its impact on employee retention. We first used a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique for categorical variables to identify the four main dimensions of work-related well-being. Then, we analyzed these dimensions in a fractional regression framework to predict employee retention. The empirical results suggest that the most significant aspects that discourage employee turnover are related to career growth opportunities, job satisfaction, and interpersonal relationships among coworkers.