Exploring Psychological Isolation's Influence on Organizational Commitment and Turnover Across Work Arrangements

Abstract

This study investigated whether psychological isolation moderates the relationship between work arrangements and key organizational outcomes. Data were collected from 169 employees working in traditional (n = 49), hybrid (n = 82), and remote (n = 35) roles. Initial analyses found no significant relationship between work arrangements and either organizational commitment or turnover intentions, and psychological isolation did not moderate these relationships. However, follow-up analyses using a more granular measure of frequency of shared workdays in the office revealed that coworker presence significantly reduced psychological isolation. In turn, lower psychological isolation was associated with stronger organizational commitment across all three dimensions and lower turnover intentions across both dimensions. Mediation analyses confirmed that psychological isolation explains how shared in-office days influence these outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of coworker interaction over work arrangement type alone. Future research should adopt more nuanced measures of work arrangements, strive for larger sample sizes, and explore these relationships in international contexts to enhance generalizability.