Fatores motivacionais associados à intenção de movimentação de pessoal na Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the motivational factors that influence the intention to change positions among faculty and administrative staff (TAEs) at the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), considering both the intention to transfer to another position and the intention to leave the institution. The study falls within the research area of Public Administration and Organizations, contributing to the debate on staff retention and mobility in the context of multicampus federal public universities. The theoretical framework of the study integrated the premises of the main classical and contemporary theories of motivation within the field of Public Administration. This is an applied, descriptive study with a quantitative-qualitative approach, utilizing a semi-structured electronic questionnaire administered to a sample of 169 active staff members—including faculty and technical and administrative staff—whose responses were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), multigroup analysis, and content analysis. The results from the overall sample of civil servants demonstrated that the intention to leave temporarily is primarily associated with the physical conditions and physical safety of the work environment, while the intention to leave permanently was not significantly explained by the variables analyzed. The multigroup analysis showed that, among administrative staff, the intention to leave is strongly influenced by limitations in training, development, and education, given the link to career advancement, while among faculty members, structural and academic support constraints are more closely associated with the intention to leave permanently. The qualitative analysis indicated that retention is related to job stability, attachment to work, and interpersonal relationships, whereas departure is linked to weaknesses in infrastructure, management, and institutional working conditions. The originality of this research lies in demonstrating the determinants of internal mobility and departure at a multi-campus university in the Amazon, with a comparison between faculty members and administrative staff. As a practical contribution, the findings offer concrete insights into the formulation of policies regarding human resources management, infrastructure, and professional development, with potential impacts in the organizational, practical, scientific, and public policy spheres.