Does Servant Leadership Reduce Turnover Intention?: Job Crafting as Mediating Variables, and Stress Mindset as Moderating Variable

In recent years, turnover intention among employees in China’s banking industry has surged due to internal and external environmental pressures. This surge surpasses those occurring in other sectors. This rising trend in employee turnover has resulted in reducing employee turnover becoming a critical priority for banks in their ongoing development. Traditional leadership styles have proven inadequate for addressing this issue, requiring a shift towards more effective management approaches. This study explores the potential of servant leadership, a management style that prioritizes employees’ needs, supports their development, and motivates them to realize their potential, as a means to mitigate rising turnover intentions. The research focuses on employees in the Chinese banking sector so as to examine the impact of the servant leadership management approach on their turnover intentions. Job crafting is investigated as a mediating variable, while stress mindset is assessed as a moderating variable. Data were collected from 401 valid questionnaires across 62 teams, comprising 62 leaders and 339 employees. Hypotheses were tested using SPSS 26.0 and HLM 6.0. The findings reveal that: (1) servant leadership significantly reduces turnover intentions; (2) job crafting mediates the relationship between servant leadership and turnover intentions; and (3) stress mindset positively moderates the influence of job crafting on turnover intentions. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the relationship between servant leadership and turnover intentions. The study’s findings offer valuable insights into how to enhance employee management practices. It also discusses the theoretical and practical implications of integrating servant leadership into the banking sector, highlights the study’s limitations, and proposes directions for future research.