Impact of positive practices on turnover intention, in-role performance and organisational citizenship behaviour

Orientation: The literature on positive organisational scholarship (POS) could offer valuable suggestions on how to rekindle a sense of positivity amongst teachers. Under the POS umbrella, the current study specifically focusses on positive practices, as the research study shows the importance of a positive school climate for teachers and learners. Research purpose: This study set out to inspect associations amongst positive practices, turnover intention, in-role performance and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) (towards others and the organisation). Motivation for the study: Although positive practices is not a novel construct, scientific enquiry into the topic has been scarce. Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design with 258 secondary school teachers from the Sedibeng East and West districts was used. The Positive Practices, Turnover Intention, OCB and In-Role Behaviour scales were administered. Structural equation modelling was used for hypotheses testing. Main findings: The results of this study confirmed the negative association between positive practices and turnover intention, whereas positive associations were established amongst positive practices, in-role performance (to a lesser extent) and the two different types of OCBs used in this study. Practical/managerial implications: Organisations are faced with two options: create a respectful, supportive, caring, inspirational, meaningful and forgiving organisational environment for employees and see them prosper and take the organisation to greater heights, or treat them poorly and bear the consequences. Contribution/value-add: This study makes a valuable contribution to POS through the assessment of outcomes associated with positive practices that have not been studied previously.