Social Undermining and Coping Mechanisms as Predictors of Turnover Intentions Among Healthcare Workers in Ghana

Abstract The study examined how social undermining influence turnover intentions 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 intentions, emphasizing the critical role of supervisory behavior in shaping perceptions of fairness and trust. Patient social undermining also significantly predicted turnover intentions, 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 intentions, 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 intentions in healthcare settings.