Emotional Demands and Role Ambiguity Influence on Intentions to Quit: Does Trust in Management Matter?

Abstract

Workers’ well-being is significantly influenced by the presence of clear and firm policies. This study examines the profound impact of members’ understanding of role ambiguity (ROA) on emotional demand and the pivotal role of trust in management in influencing turnover, as outlined in the job demand-resources model. The study, which purposefully selected 290 public sector employees from Lesotho, utilized a structured research instrument and analyzed the results using partial least squares structural equational modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings, in line with the hypotheses, reveal that role ambiguity significantly contributes to both emotional demands and employees’ intentions to quit. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that emotional demands act as a mediator in the relationship between ROA and intention to quit. Trust in management also plays a moderating role in the relationship between role ambiguity and intention to quit, with a negligible effect on the link between ROA and emotional demand. This interaction between work-related demands and available resources deviates from the core principles of the JD-R model. The novel concept that trusts in management can influence employees’ plans to leave, even in the face of role ambiguity, was swiftly embraced by the public service sector and government ministry managers in Lesotho. This acceptance highlights the practical applicability of the JD-R model, which suggests that workers can effectively manage demanding and unfavorable aspects of work, such as job ambiguity, by having sufficient access to valuable resources.

1. Introduction

Understanding employees’ turnover intentions is a key focus, as high turnover rates can be detrimental and require substantial investments to recruit and train new personnel (Albalawi et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2011). According to previous studies, limited job autonomy, low organizational commitment, decision-making procedures, and negative perceptions of remuneration (Guan et al., 2014; Yousaf et al., 2015) are some of the antecedents of employees’ intentions to leave. Understanding the factors influencing turnover intentions, such as role ambiguity—defined as unclear delineation of job responsibilities, performance expectations, and organizational goals—consistently emerges as a significant stressor that increases dissatisfaction and turnover intentions (Zhou et al., 2016; Bowling et al., 2017; Cengiz et al., 2021), and emotional demands—arising from the need to manage feelings in uncertain, conflict-filled work settings—intensify psychological strain (Geisler et al., 2019). However, job resources such as trust in management play a crucial role in reducing these effects, instilling confidence in leadership and mitigating the impact of ambiguity (Legood et al., 2020).

Recognizing a key mechanism that supports the potentially negative impact of role ambiguity—specifically, employees’ uncertainty about their ability to meet performance requirements—helps us understand when role ambiguity is most likely to increase turnover intentions. The lack of clear information about their duties within the business also frustrates employees. This uncertainty makes it challenging for them to perform their job effectively (Chen et al., 2011; Schmidt et al., 2014). Although there is some evidence that employees’ negative emotions caused by role ambiguity may influence their desire to leave (Zhang et al., 2023), there is only weak evidence that role ambiguity has direct adverse effects on work outcomes or turnover intentions (Martini, 2024), suggesting a need for further research in this area.

However, the negative emotions that can stem from role ambiguity are not always unavoidable. This is because there are underlying factors that can either reduce the uncertainty associated with more ambiguous job descriptions or act as a buffer to prevent employees from becoming overwhelmed by it (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017; Schmidt et al., 2014). Therefore, it is essential to understand how these specific contingencies aimed at reducing uncertainty have the potential to significantly decrease the likelihood that employees react negatively to ambiguous job expectations by increasing their intentions to leave. Furthermore, research by Bakker and Demerouti (2018) and Showail et al. (2013) utilizes the job demands-resources (JD-R) model to support their assertions. This model, which posits that adverse work conditions, leading to uncertainty, amplify poor work attitudes, while relevant resources serve as a buffer that helps mitigate this effect, is a key theoretical framework in our research. The JD-R model suggests that job demands, such as role ambiguity, and job resources, such as trust in management, interact to influence employee turnover intentions.

Consequently, while trust in management (TIM) plays a significant role in reducing quitting intentions, it does not necessarily buffer the affective strain caused by ambiguity (ROA → EMD). Emotional demands, a central theme in our research, are inherently intrapersonal: they stem from the effort to regulate emotions and maintain composure in stressful situations (Zapf et al., 2021). Unlike quitting intentions, which are partly cognitive and relational, emotional demands are felt at the individual level and require personal resources such as emotional intelligence, resilience, or coping strategies (Tucker et al., 2020).

The public sector in Lesotho, a unique and underexplored area, is marked by bureaucratic overlap, weak coordination among ministries, and frequent policy changes. These structural issues often lead to uncertainty regarding responsibilities, performance standards, and reporting lines (Mapetla & Letete, 2020). Such conditions increase role ambiguity compared to more organized private-sector organizations, making the public sector in Lesotho a key area for exploring the relationship between role ambiguity and turnover. While role ambiguity and emotional demands are recognized as precursors to employee turnover, the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions remain underexplored in public and private organizational contexts.

Despite the growing body of research applying the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model to employee well-being, this study makes several novel contributions. First, the study extends the JD-R model to a public-sector context in a developing country (Lesotho)—a domain often overlooked in organizational behavior literature, which is dominated mainly by private-sector or Western settings. Hence, this study, uniquely targeting the public sector in Lesotho, a least developed country, offers a regional perspective that is rarely examined. In addition to investigating turnover in the bureaucratically complex and resource-constrained public service, this research not only demonstrates the model’s adaptability to underexplored environments but also reassures about its robustness.

Furthermore, this study simultaneously integrates mediation and moderation into a single framework, positioning emotional demands as a mediator and trust in management as a moderator. Few prior studies (De Clercq & Belausteguigoitia, 2017; Naim & Ozyilmaz, 2023) have examined these mechanisms together, and even fewer have tested their boundary conditions in fragile trust contexts. Finally, from a methodological standpoint, this study would make a significant contribution by employing purposive sampling in the Lesotho public sector, yielding empirical insights from 290 carefully selected participants across seven ministries. This not only enhances contextual richness but also instills confidence in the study’s approach and strengthens the applicability of findings for policymaking in similar least-developed economies.

However, the potential impact of this study’s findings is significant, as it could provide valuable insights into the factors influencing employee turnover in the public sector, particularly in resource-constrained public service sectors where leadership trust is often fragile, and address how emotional demands and trust in management can mitigate the adverse effects of role ambiguity on employees’ intentions to quit their jobs in the public service sector in Lesotho. To achieve the aforementioned research aim, the following research questions needed to be addressed:

• Does role ambiguity significantly influence employees’ intentions to quit?
• Does role ambiguity increase employees’ emotional demands?
• Do emotional demands mediate the relationship between role ambiguity and turnover intentions?
• Does trust in management moderate the link between role ambiguity and quitting intentions?
• Does trust in management moderate the link between role ambiguity and emotional demands?

Following this introduction, Section 2 reviews relevant literature and develops hypotheses. While Section 3 outlines the methodology. Section 4 presents the expected results, followed by a discussion on theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research directions in the Section 5.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. Job Demands-Resources Theory (JD-R Model)

In organizations, the JD-R model framework is used to predict and enhance employee health, motivation, and general well-being, while improving various organizational outcomes. The JD-R model has been applied to examine how various facets of job characteristics are associated with individual and organizational outcomes. This dual process makes the JD-R model particularly suitable for examining how adverse work conditions (such as role ambiguity and emotional demands) interact with organizational resources (such as trust in management) to predict turnover intentions. This model suggests that while positive job characteristics can help offset the effects of high demands and promote motivation and involvement, exposure to high job demands and a deficit of job resources contribute to stress and intention to quit.

While JD-R has been applied to stressor–outcome models, relatively few studies (De Clercq & Belausteguigoitia, 2017; Naim & Ozyilmaz, 2023) examine simultaneous mediation and moderation, which this study tends to integrate and unveil by positioning emotional demands as a mediator and trust in management as a moderator. This study extends JD-R’s explanatory power. Secondly, studies (Geisler et al., 2019; Bakker & Demerouti, 2018) often treat resources as universally buffering all adverse outcomes (e.g., autonomy reducing stress and burnout). However, this study differs from previous studies in that trust in management (TIM) buffers the cognitive/attitudinal pathway (reducing turnover intentions). Furthermore, TIM does not buffer the affective/strain pathway (emotional demands), since emotional regulation requires different coping resources, such as resilience or emotional intelligence (Tucker et al., 2020). This nuance extends JD-R by showing that resources may have domain-specific protective functions. Furthermore, in this context, role ambiguity represents a job demand that can induce strain and affect employees’ attitudes and ultimate behaviors towards their jobs. Hence, a hypothetical model to examine the effect of role ambiguity on emotional demands and employee turnover intentions, and further investigate these dynamics by considering the mediating role of emotional demands and the moderating role of trust in management among public sector employees, remains original.

Our study focuses on extending the JD-R model to the public sector, a context that has received less attention in the literature. Most JD-R research has been conducted in private or service-oriented industries in developed economies. By applying the model in a public sector setting within a developing economy, where ambiguity is pervasive due to bureaucratic overlap, limited resources, and fragile institutional trust (Mwakyusa & Mcharo, 2024), we contribute to the contextual novelty of the JD-R model. This extension is significant as it demonstrates the model’s adaptability and relevance across diverse contexts, and it also highlights the unique challenges and opportunities that the public sector presents for employee well-being and performance.

2.2. Conceptual Review and Hypothesis Development

2.2.1. Emotional Demands

Emotional demands (EMD) refer to job facets that require continuous emotional exertion due to interaction with customers and servicing various stakeholders (Duarte et al., 2020). This can be further seen in the extent to which jobs require employees to manage emotionally charged interactions, regulate their own feelings, and display prescribed emotions (Zapf et al., 2021). Emotional demands (EMD) are a form of strain that arises when employees must regulate emotions during ambiguous or stressful interactions. The impact of EMD on employee well-being and performance is significant, making it a crucial area of study in occupational psychology. EMD at work encompasses the employee’s ability to handle emotionally charged people while maintaining control of their own emotions and their capacity to influence the emotions of others (Baek et al., 2023).

2.2.2. Trust in Management

Trust in management (TIM) refers to employees’ belief that their supervisors and organizational leaders act with competence, fairness, integrity, and benevolence (Mayer et al., 1995; Legood et al., 2020). Trust is not simply confidence in task-related skills but extends to ethical leadership and the perception that management has employees’ best interests at heart. Within the organizational work environment, the notion of trust in management signifies employees’ confidence in an organization’s achievement of objectives and in its leaders, as well as the conviction that organizational actions would be advantageous for employees (Jaiswal et al., 2022; Komodromos et al., 2019). Based on the current organizational contexts’ literature, trust is characterized as the belief in and readiness to rely on another party (Wang et al., 2018). Trust also demonstrates “belief in the reliable intentions of others” and “assurance in the capabilities of others”. The phenomenon of trust in management is salient to organizations since workplace conduct is influenced by belief in management’s good intentions (Legood et al., 2020).

2.2.3. Intentions to Quit

Organizational turnover pertains to the number of employees departing during a specific timeframe. Organizations that experience turnover face practical challenges, including the loss of talent and increased costs associated with recruitment and training (Winarno et al., 2022). Turnover intentions signify the intention to leave employment or the desire to resign from one’s existing organization (Wong & Wong, 2017). Turnover is categorized as voluntary or involuntary; both classifications can be regarded as intentional behavior (Ike et al., 2023; Hom et al., 2017).

2.2.4. Role Ambiguity and Intentions to Quit

Role ambiguity denotes the perceived lack of clarity and understanding about employees’ role responsibilities, procedures, obligations, and expectations (Zhou et al., 2016). Role ambiguity arises when an individual lacks the essential information needed to fulfil the responsibilities of a specific role and when they believe that a deficiency of job-related information and clarity hinders their efficacy in executing their duties (Smith, 2011). RA is associated with feelings of abandonment and isolation among employees (Teh et al., 2014). Contrary to perceptions of role ambiguity, it is assumed that a person with role clarity will have all information pertinent to their role, be certain of what must be done, and have predictable expectations and repercussions of their performance (Cengiz et al., 2021). The predictors of role ambiguity in the workplace include unclear role definitions, organizational support, communication challenges and poor organizational culture (Bowling et al., 2017; Mwakyusa & Mcharo, 2024).

The likelihood of employee turnover increases when job responsibilities are not clearly defined, since this can lead to dissatisfaction and frustration on the part of workers (Ridjal & Muhammadin, 2023). In line with the JD-R theory’s well-being weakening procedure, role ambiguity represents a job demand that can induce strain and affect employees’ attitudes and ultimate behaviors towards their jobs (Bakker & Demerouti, 2018).

The effects of role ambiguity among employees include increased stress and burnout, lower levels of commitment and engagement, and increased job dissatisfaction (Kalkman, 2018; Cengiz et al., 2021). Consequently, employees exposed to high levels of role ambiguity exhausted their resources, resulting in poor emotional and physical outcomes. When job demands such as role ambiguity are consistently high, employees will struggle to complete subsequent tasks and be less invested in completing them (Lee & Eissenstat, 2018). To resolve the persistent lack of clarity on duties and obligations within the workplace, employees exposed to role ambiguity may choose to quit their organizations to avoid the draining experience. Given the above discussion, the following hypothesis is developed:

Hypothesis 1. 

Role ambiguity (ROA) has a positive and significant effect on employees’ intentions to quit.

2.2.5. Role Ambiguity and Emotional Demands

Emotional demands are characterized by emotionally intense situations that induce an individual’s emotional response. The emotional framework in which ambiguity leads to adverse outcomes, such as fatigue, disengagement, and intentions to leave, within the JD-R health impairment pathway, is characterized by emotional demands (Geisler et al., 2019; Zapf et al., 2021). High emotional demands often lead to employees feeling negative about their work, diminishing their self-esteem and work energy (Geisler et al., 2019). However, it’s important to note that some employees view job demands as challenges, which can improve their work participation and even inspire them. The deleterious effects of this job demand directly impact employees’ well-being. Therefore, employees who regard emotional demands as obstacles experience a negative impact on the execution of their work duties. Those who view job demands as challenges can improve their work participation.

Role ambiguity (ROA) is characterized by a lack of clarity regarding job responsibilities, performance standards, and expectations, which causes stress and energy depletion rather than fostering learning or advancement (Zhou et al., 2016). Employees with unclear roles expend mental and emotional energy trying to resolve discrepancies, thereby accelerating the depletion of their resources. However, it’s important to note that employees who view job demands as challenges can improve their work participation, offering a potential pathway to overcome the negative effects of role ambiguity. Studies show that high levels of role ambiguity were associated with emotional exhaustion among employees who regard emotional demands as hindrances (Zhang et al., 2023; Mwakyusa & Mcharo, 2024). A different pattern was observed for employees who regard job demands as challenges that stimulate them to improve the execution of their work duties.

Previous research shows that role ambiguity can lead to stress, unhappiness, and intentions to leave an organization (Martini, 2024; Ridjal & Muhammadin, 2023). There has been limited research on the potential moderating effects of managerial resources on the relationship between job ambiguity and emotional demands as a stressor. Given the prevalence and impact of workplace stress, this is a research area that urgently needs attention. The need for further research is crucial to fully understand the complex relationship between role ambiguity, emotional demands, and workplace stress. Based on the mixed reaction to the nexus between ROA and EMD, the following hypothesis has been proposed for the study:

Hypothesis 2. 

Role ambiguity (ROA) has a positive and significant effect on emotional demands.

2.2.6. The Mediating Role of Emotional Demands

Employees exposed to work conditions characterized by high emotional demands may encounter emotionally challenging situations such as managing client grievances and interacting with dissatisfied, unhappy, or rude customers (Dos Santos Tome & Van der Vaart, 2020; Karahan Kaplan et al., 2024). Prolonged exposure to emotional demands can lead individuals to experience chronic exhaustion and psychological detachment from their work (De Beer & Bianchi, 2017; Olaleye & Lekunze, 2023; Tucker et al., 2020). Studies have shown that emotional demands have a similar significance for employee well-being, if not more so than other psychological-quantitative demands, such as workload (Andersen et al., 2017; Elfering et al., 2017). Therefore, the increase in role ambiguity may increase the employee’s intention to quit their job due to emotional and physical strain. This underscores the need for further research in this area, which could significantly impact our understanding of employee well-being and turnover. Similarly, an individual subjected to elevated emotional demands will encounter greater challenges in meeting job requirements and performance compared to someone engaged in less emotionally demanding employment.

Emotional demands (EMD) are a key component in the health impairment pathway, representing a type of strain that arises when employees are required to regulate their emotions during ambiguous or stressful interactions. As a psychological mechanism in the JD-R model, emotional demands play a significant role in understanding how role ambiguity can lead to adverse outcomes such as exhaustion, disengagement, and intentions to leave (Geisler et al., 2019; Zapf et al., 2021). For instance, when job instructions are conflicting, employees are forced to manage their frustration, conceal negative emotions, and maintain composure. These regulatory efforts are emotionally taxing, leading to fatigue and withdrawal behaviors. Therefore, in this study, emotional demands are viewed as a mediator that clarifies the relationship between role ambiguity and turnover intentions. This perspective underscores the hypothesis postulated as:

Hypothesis 3. 

Emotional demands (EMD) significantly mediate the relationship between role ambiguity and intentions to quit.

2.2.7. Moderating Role of Trust in Management (TIM)

Trust in management (TIM) is a key job resource within the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model. It directly enhances engagement and indirectly mitigates the negative impact of job demands on employee outcomes (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017). This study focuses on the role of trust in management as a job resource, particularly in explaining the strength of the relationship between role ambiguity, emotional demands, and intentions to quit. According to Schaufeli and Taris (2014), job resources like trust in management can motivate employees both intrinsically and extrinsically. Therefore, the JD-R theory suggests that increased job resources, including trust in management, can buffer the negative impact of job demands.

Trust in management is a fundamental concept that significantly influences the relationship between employees and organizations. It refers to the employee’s willingness and confidence to trust the words and actions of senior management, based on the belief that the other party will act in good faith even under uncertain conditions (Mayer & Davis, 1999; Khumalo & Jackson, 2022). This conceptualization of trust in management as a job resource is crucial in providing a positive work environment for public sector employees, motivating them to overcome challenges, and facilitating the adoption of adaptive behaviors.

Research indicates that trust in management can serve as a significant protective factor for employees. For example, trust in management has been shown to mitigate the negative effects of ROA and IOQ (De Clercq & Belausteguigoitia, 2017). Trust in management (TIM) has also been identified as a moderator between job demands, such as job insecurity and burnout (Jiang & Probst, 2019). While many studies have highlighted the protective role of trust in management, Naim and Ozyilmaz (2023) reported a non-significant moderating role of TIM.

When jobs are ambiguously defined, employees may lack clarity regarding expectations from their supervisors, evaluation criteria, and their specific responsibilities. Ambiguity frequently results in dissatisfaction and intentions to depart. When employees trust their supervisors, they are more likely to perceive ambiguous instructions as manageable challenges during organizational restructuring, rather than indicators of systemic management failure (De Clercq & Belausteguigoitia, 2017). Moreover, this trust in management fosters relationships with their leaders, creating a sense of connection and engagement that alleviates the adverse impacts of unclear roles. Employees are less inclined to resign immediately when they have confidence that their managers will provide clarity in the future (Legood et al., 2020). Consequently, TIM diminishes the correlation between role ambiguity and intentions to resign (ROA-IOQ). The JD-R motivational pathway depends on trust to sustain commitment and alleviate stress.

De Clercq and Belausteguigoitia (2017) discovered that trust directly mitigates the adverse effects of job ambiguity on turnover intentions, excluding emotional demands as a mediating factor. Emotional demands, in this context, refer to the psychological strain that employees experience due to their job roles. Present research elucidates the mechanisms by which ambiguity induces cessation, employing both mediation and moderation analyses. Naim and Ozyilmaz (2023) indicate that managerial trust does not significantly influence the relationship between job demands and outcomes, implying that its significance may be overstated. They failed to differentiate between emotional (strain) and attitudinal (turnover intentions) effects. Findings would rectify this disparity and offer a more sophisticated, domain-specific understanding of resources in JD-R theory by demonstrating that the Trust-In-Management (TIM) model moderates the former but not the latter, thereby enhancing our understanding of the role of trust in organizational behavior. Geisler et al. (2019) and Zapf et al. (2021) explored emotional stressors without integrating managerial trust into their models.

Institutional trust in management within the Lesotho public sector is frequently contested due to perceptions of limited transparency, favoritism in promotions, and inconsistent decision-making (World Bank, 2021). This sector is significant as it is a large employer and its practices often influence other sectors in the country. This makes it an ideal setting to test the role of trust in management as a moderating resource. By situating the study in such a trust-sensitive context, the analysis can reveal valuable insights into how managerial credibility mitigates (or fails to mitigate) the harmful effects of role ambiguity. Therefore, this research, however, takes a novel approach by examining the impact of trust in management, role ambiguity, and emotional demand on intentions to quit. By introducing this unique perspective, we aim to contribute to the existing literature and stimulate further research in this area by stating the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 4. 

Trust in management significantly moderates the relationship between role ambiguity and intentions to quit.

Hypothesis 5. 

Trust in management significantly moderates the relationship between role ambiguity and emotional demands.

As seen in Figure 1, a framework of interrelationships between the different factors (direct and intervening) is necessary to attain the intention to quit.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Sampling Procedure and Characteristics

The present study adopted a cross-sectional approach to survey the effects of role ambiguity and emotional demands on job intentions to quit, focusing on public sector employees across seven government ministries in Lesotho. Most South African Development Community (SADC) countries, including Lesotho, view the public sector as the primary employer of skilled workers (Le Roux & Cohen, 2016). Given Lesotho’s high poverty and inequality rates, which have reduced the number of available jobs, the public sector has become a social safety net, absorbing jobs that would otherwise be lost to the private sector (World Bank, 2021). Out of the statistics of the labour force of 786,298, with 549,722 being employed (Labour Force Survey 2024 Report), segregating a population from the employable proportion in the public sector of Lesotho, and a sizable number of respondents gave their informed consent to participate in the study, a thorough and rigorous purposive sampling method was applied. This involved physically administering 400 questionnaires to government employees in three districts (Maseru, Botha Bothe, and Berea), which house several public sector departments. Most of the employed workforce in Lesotho is spread across several ministries of the public sector (education, health services, agriculture, tourism, social services, trade and industry, science and technology), where data is obtained through a third party, an experienced and knowledgeable psychologist, to help mitigate the case of selection or sampling bias. While purposive sampling is suitable for targeted investigations, it is essential to note that it may introduce some potential bias and limit the generalizability of the findings. Consequently, 314 responses were received within five months, from which 24 were removed as outliers, leaving 290 valid responses. This resulted in a response rate of 72.5%, proving to be sufficient for the study.

Our study was conducted in strict adherence to ethical practices, as approved by the Economic and Management Sciences Research Ethics Committee (EMS-REC) of North West University. The ethical approval number is NWU-00302-18-A4. This institutional approval was granted in accordance with policies that dictate all research involving human subjects be conducted ethically. As a further testament to our commitment to ethical research, all participants in the study provided their informed consent.

3.2. Measures and Analytical Technique

Appendix A contains the modified survey used for this investigation, which is based on existing literature on the selected subjects. The selection of these literature sources is significant as they provide a theoretical foundation for the study. To measure trust in management, 10 statements from previous studies (Mayer & Davis, 1999; Chao et al., 2004) were adopted and modified, a method widely recognized for its validity and reliability. In addition, this study used four questions from prior research to assess emotional demands and intentions to quit (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004; Maxwell & Riley, 2017), further enhancing the study’s credibility. Acker (2004) cited six items from Rizzo et al. (1970) for measuring role ambiguity, a method with a proven track record. To ensure the accuracy of respondents’ perceptions, the study utilized a five-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree), a widely accepted method for measuring attitudes and agreement levels in social science research, while only emotional demand was assessed based on frequency, with responses like 1 indicating “never” and 5 indicating “always”.

The descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) were applied to describe and analyze the data and verify essential assumptions. The adoption of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) provides a more robust approach to examining the direct, moderating, and mediating effects of role ambiguity, TIM, emotional demands, and intentions to quit. Before conducting Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to confirm the structural model, the researcher checked the multicollinearity and psychometric validity. In contrast to CB-SEM, which makes numerous claims, PLS-SEM offers distinct advantages. It breaks down its model into smaller components to optimize the explained variance of the dependent constructs, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the data (Hair et al., 2017; Olaleye et al., 2024). Hence, this analytical tool is a more prediction-oriented approach that is useful for exploratory studies with a limited sample size.

Finally, the PLS-SEM, with its robustness and adaptability, is particularly suitable for predictive, theory-building purposes with complex models, mixed measurement types (reflective/formative), and distributional deviations. Its adaptability ensures that it can be applied to a wide range of research scenarios, making it a versatile tool for researchers. It also manages modest to moderate sample sizes, which are common in single-industry field research. Therefore, a two-stage approach—(1) measurement model assessment and (2) structural model estimation with bootstrapping for inference—was adopted in this study, ensuring the most appropriate and effective research approach. The study’s findings, which will be discussed in detail in Section 4, are expected to provide valuable insights into the relationship between trust in management, role ambiguity, emotional demands, and intentions to quit, and their implications for organizational management and employee well-being.

4. Results

4.1. Descriptive Analysis

Our sample, as detailed in

Table 1. Demographic profile of the respondents.

Variables	Categories	Freq (n = 290)	Percentage
Gender	Male	130	44.8
	Female	160	55.2
Age	Below 20 years	13	4.5
	20–29 years	79	27.2
	30–39 years	140	48.3
	40–49 years	44	15.2
	Above 50 years	14	4.8
Highest Educational Level	College certificate	24	8.3
	Diploma	34	11.7
	Degree	176	60.7
	Masters	37	12.8
	Others	19	6.6
Ministry	Agriculture & Food Security	69	23.8
	Communication, Science & Technology	45	15.5
	Development Planning	27	9.3
	Finance	57	19.7
	Small Business Development	36	12.4
	Tourism, Environment & Culture	25	8.6
	Trade & Industry	31	10.7
Years of Operation	Below 5 years	97	33.4
	5–10 years	80	27.6
	11–15 years	67	23.1
	16–25 years	32	11.0
	Above 25 years	14	4.8
Position	Non-Managerial	115	39.7
	Supervisory/Front-Line Manager	62	21.4
	Middle Management Level	64	22.1
	Senior Management Level	28	9.7
	Others	21	7.2

Source: Author’s Computation, 2025.

, is diverse in terms of gender, with 44.8% males and 55.2% females. The majority of respondents were married and aged 30–39, with the smallest percentage being less than 20 years old. A significant proportion of the sample, 60.7%, held a bachelor’s degree or above, indicating a high level of education among public servants. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security was the most represented, with 23.8% of respondents, while the Ministry of Tourism, Environment, and Culture had the fewest respondents. In terms of job rank or position, 43.5% of respondents were in supervisory or middle management roles, while 39.7% were in non-managerial roles. Our participants brought a wealth of experience to the survey, with 9.7% from upper management and 7.2% from other job ranks. A majority had worked in public service for more than five years, with 33.4% having less experience. The remaining survey participants (4.8%) verified that they had been public servants for over 25 years.

4.2. Multicollinearity Test and Correlations

The data, meticulously collected and thoroughly checked, do not contain any significant errors that would prevent multicollinearity testing. This ensures the data’s suitability for continuing with the analysis. The variance inflation factor (VIF) is the most common statistic used for comparison. Since all the VIF values are below 5, the statistical analysis in

Table 2. Multicollinearity test.

Variables	EMD	IOQ	ROA	TIM
Emotional Demand (EMD)	-	1.249	-	-
Intentions to Quit (IOQ)	-	-	-	-
Role Ambiguity (ROA)	1.047	1.281	-	-
Trust in Management (TIM)	1.055	1.058	-	-

Source: Author’s computation, 2025.

does not reveal any signs of multicollinearity.

4.3. Data Screening

The study heavily relies on self-reported measures for all constructs, while self-reporting is common in psychological and organizational research, it introduces several potential response biases. The risk increases when all variables are measured through the same method (e.g., self-report surveys), which can inflate observed relationships. Of particular concern is social desirability bias, which is especially relevant for trust in management and emotional demand. Here, respondents might overstate or understate their perceptions to potentially skew the results. Respondents’ subjective perceptions may not accurately reflect actual quit intention, leading to perceptual distortion. However, the limitations were addressed accordingly.

Respondents providing data for both variables may cause common method variance (CMV), which is undesirable. To reduce this risk, the researcher ensured participants’ anonymity and clarified that there were no correct answers (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Post-collection, three methods assessed CMV: first, Harman’s one-factor test using Maximum Likelihood factor analysis to determine if a single factor explains most of the variation, with a total variance explained of 41.3%, which is below the 50% threshold. Second, the “unmeasured latent factor” method in CFA was employed, adding an unobservable latent variable that combines all indicators to measure shared variance, requiring identical unstandardized loadings. The sharing of variation is determined by squaring the loadings. Results indicate CMV isn’t a significant concern. Finally, the PLS-SEM with maximum likelihood estimation was used to test the hypotheses; the model fit was acceptable (χ² = 11,072.795; SRMR = 0.062; NFI = 0.901), confirming the model’s validity and good data fit, as detailed in

Table 3. Model fit.

Indicators	Values	Threshold Criteria	Rating
Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR)	0.062	Below 0.08	Good fit
Normed Fit Index (NFI)	0.901	Value close to 1	Good fit
Chi-Square (χ2)	11,072.795		Good fit

.

4.4. Assessing the Measurement Model

To determine the reliability of measuring scales, previous research has relied heavily on Cronbach’s alpha, which is well known for its accuracy in evaluating internal consistency across measurement items, as well as for providing a reliability estimate. According to the criteria set out by (Dijkstra & Henseler, 2015; Hair et al., 2021; Ibrahim & Olaleye, 2025; Olaleye et al., 2023), Cronbach’s alpha values for emotional demands (0.923), intention to quit (0.958), trust in management (0.928), and role ambiguity (0.864) were all higher than the minimum level of 0.7. In addition, the composite reliability was applied to verify the reliability assumptions; the findings show that all structures fall within acceptable ranges.

Before hypothesis testing, we utilized the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to estimate the measurement model. This methodological soundness, as further demonstrated in

Table 4. Measurement model.

Variables	Loadings (λ)	CA	Rho_A	CR	AVE
Emotional Demands		0.813	0.832	0.876	0.640
EMD1	0.813 ***
EMD2	0.712 ***
EMD3	0.874 ***
EMD4	0.793 ***
Intention to Quit		0.941	0.942	0.958	0.850
IOQ1	0.907 ***
IOQ2	0.926 ***
IOQ3	0.924 ***
IOQ4	0.931 ***
Trust in Management		0.905	0.944	0.928	0.687
TIM1	0.898 ***
TIM2	0.926 ***
TIM3	0.887 ***
TIM4	0.884 ***
TIM5	-
TIM6	0.766 ***
TIM7	-
TIM8	0.550 ***
TIM9	-
TIM10	-
Role Ambiguity		0.763	0.767	0.864	0.678
ROA1	0.839 ***
ROA2	0.832 ***
ROA3	0.800 ***
ROA4	-
ROA5	-
ROA6	-

Source: Author’s computation, 2025. *** deleted due to poor loadings.

, was a key aspect of our study. However, some items (TIM5, TIM7, TIM9, TIM10, ROA4, ROA5, ROA6) were removed due to poor factor loadings (below 0.5). The loading coefficient, when >0.50 and significant, is crucial in forming the construct. However, it’s important to note that outer loading doesn’t necessarily indicate importance. When a formative indicator’s contribution is below 0.50 and not statistically significant, researchers may either remove or retain it. This decision is not solely based on statistical significance, but also on theoretical relevance and expert judgment, highlighting the importance of your expertise in the research process (Cenfetelli & Bassellier, 2009; Hair et al., 2020). Nevertheless, we ensured that all measurement components had factor loadings greater than 0.5. Table 3 further demonstrates that all constructs have AVEs exceeding 0.5, indicating that convergent validity is established. Hence, the CFA’s findings satisfy the convergent validity criteria.

4.5. Discriminant Validity

Each construct was rigorously tested for discriminant validity, adhering to the stringent criteria set by Fornell and Larcker. The discriminant validity is confirmed when the square root of the AVE values for each concept surpasses the correlations between constructs. In addition to the Fornell and Larcker (1981) criterion, Henseler et al. (2015) introduced the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) correlation ratio. The importance of this ratio is underscored by Kline’s (2005) guideline, which states that all measurement model structures with HTMT values falling between 0.117 and 0.554 (below the threshold of 0.85) should be displayed in

Table 5. Discriminant validity.

Variables	EMD	IOQ	ROA	TIM
Emotional Demand (EMD)	a 0.800	b 0.228	0.554	0.155
Intentions to Quit (IOQ)	0.208	0.922	0.117	0.357
Role Ambiguity (ROA)	0.443	0.095	0.824	0.249
Trust in Management (TIM)	−0.137	−0.342	−0.212	0.829

Source: Author’s computation, 2025. “a = Diagonal values in bold are the square root of AVE”, “b = Italicized values above the square root of AVE are Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratios”.

, indicating the presence of valid discriminant validity.

4.6. Assessing the Structural Model

The statistical results from the structural model were extracted, and assumptions were verified by retaining acceptable item factor loadings in the measurement model.

Table 6. Path analysis result.

Hypotheses		Std. Beta	Std. Error	t-Value	p-Value	F2	R2	Decision
H1	$\mathrm{ROA}\to \mathrm{I}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{Q}$	0.103	0.036	2.034	0.003	0.163	0.143	S
H2	$\mathrm{ROA}\to \mathrm{E}\mathrm{M}\mathrm{D}$	0.442	0.054	8.525	0.000	0.223	0.196	S
	Indirect Effects (mediation and moderation)
H3	$\mathrm{ROA}\to \mathrm{E}\mathrm{M}\mathrm{D}\to \mathrm{I}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{Q}$	0.079	0.030	2.659	0.008	Full Mediation		S
H4	$\mathrm{TIM}\_\mathrm{MOD}*\mathrm{R}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{A}\to \mathrm{I}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{Q}$	0.129	0.057	2.255	0.024	0.025		S
H5	$\mathrm{TIM}\_\mathrm{MOD}*\mathrm{R}\mathrm{O}\mathrm{A}\to \mathrm{E}\mathrm{M}\mathrm{D}$	0.035	0.051	0.690	0.490	0.002		NS

Source: Author’s computation, 2025. S—supported; NS—Not supported.

displays all the tests that addressed the structural model and the hypothesis relationship. The data from Figure 2 and Table 6 support H1 because they show that role ambiguity makes workers more likely to quit (β = 0.103, t-value = 2.034) and significantly affects their emotional demands (β = 0.442, t-value = 8.525). Therefore, H1 and H2 are accepted. These findings have significant implications for understanding and managing turnover likelihood in the workplace. In addition, the data demonstrates that emotional demands play a substantial mediating role in the link between ROA and IOQ, supporting H3 (γ = 0.079, t-value = 2.659). This finding has important implications for understanding the role of emotional demands in the relationship between these variables. Regarding IOQ, role ambiguity can explain 14.3% of the variance, and in EMD, ROA accounts for 19.6%, further emphasizing the significant role of these factors and their implications for organizational management.

TIM influences the nature of the causal link between the direct paths by virtue of its moderating role. Figure 3 shows that the positive coefficient of the relationship between ROA and IOQ in Figure 2 changes to a negative coefficient. This suggests that TIM substantially affects this relationship (H4: β = 0.129, t = 2.255, p < 0.05). Consequently, this indicates that, due to the ROA, employees are less likely to intend to leave their jobs when they have a higher trust in management, providing a reassuring insight into the importance of trust in reducing turnover likelihood. Figure 3 shows that TIM moderates the link between role ambiguity and emotional demand (H5: β = 0.035, t = 0.690, p > 0.05), indicating that the path is positive but not statistically significant. Since the F2 value is greater than the low-effect criterion (>0.15), as opined by Cohen (1988), the path (ROA→EMD) had a moderate antecedent effect of role ambiguity on emotional demands. However, due to the F2 value falling under the threshold range of 0.02–0.15, pathways (ROA → IOQ), TIM_MOD* ROA→IOQ, and TIM_MOD* ROA→EMD all had small effect sizes. Finally, in assessing the overall goodness of fit (GoF), an SRMR of 0.063 and an NFI of 0.851 demonstrate a strong alignment between the data and the study model, instilling confidence in the robustness of the findings.

5. Discussion

5.1. Discussion of Findings

In the context of the public sector in Lesotho, these findings aim to determine whether role ambiguity and emotional demands influence workers’ intention to quit their jobs, and to examine the moderating effect of trust in management on the research paradigm. Moreover, our results indicate that role ambiguity predicts intentions to quit from the workplace. Supporting the first hypothesis, an extensive body of research confirms that role ambiguity is a critical antecedent of employees’ intentions to quit. This is a crucial topic in today’s workplace, as employees who face unclear expectations and conflicting role demands often report heightened stress, frustration, and withdrawal cognitions. Recent studies highlight that role ambiguity undermines employees’ psychological well-being and directly increases turnover intentions (Ridjal & Muhammadin, 2023; Martini, 2024). Similarly, Bowling et al. (2017) argue that ambiguous roles generate negative emotions, distort employees’ self-perceptions, and contribute to relational conflict in the workplace, all of which intensify the desire to resign.

Research from diverse cultural contexts worldwide echoes these findings. For instance, Zhang et al. (2023) discovered a significant increase in emotional exhaustion among nurses in China due to role ambiguity, which in turn predicted intentions to leave. In a comprehensive meta-analytic review, Cengiz et al. (2021) found that role ambiguity consistently reduces job satisfaction and elevates turnover intentions across public-sector and service industries. Similarly, Zhou et al. (2016) observed in a multi-country sample that the lack of supervisory clarity not only hampers productivity but also directly predicts employees’ inclination to exit their organizations. These global findings underscore the universal impact of role ambiguity on employee turnover intentions.

Taken together, these findings suggest that role ambiguity functions as a hindrance demand within the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework. In this framework, a hindrance demand is a job aspect that hinders personal growth and achievement, such as role ambiguity. It erodes clarity, increases strain, and fosters dissatisfaction, which ultimately culminates in higher turnover intentions. In the practical sense, employees who lack clarity regarding job expectations or evaluation criteria are more likely to disengage and contemplate quitting. This confirms the JD-R model’s health impairment pathway, where ambiguity depletes personal resources and generates withdrawal cognitions.

In line with the second hypothesis, role ambiguity is strongly associated with increased emotional demands. When employees lack clarity about their duties, expectations, or performance standards, they expend significant emotional energy managing frustration, confusion, and tension in their daily work. According to Bowling et al. (2017), ambiguous roles trigger emotional regulation efforts as employees attempt to reconcile contradictory instructions and expectations. This constant regulation constitutes a core component of emotional labor, thereby raising overall emotional demands.

Recent empirical evidence reaffirms this connection. Zhang et al. (2023) found that role ambiguity among Chinese healthcare workers significantly heightened emotional exhaustion, indicating that unclear roles amplify the emotional effort required to perform effectively. Similarly, Geisler et al. (2019) demonstrated that emotional demands intensify when employees face overlapping and poorly defined tasks, as they must regulate their emotions to maintain composure and professionalism. Moreover, Zapf et al. (2021) emphasized that ambiguous job demands require employees to engage in surface and deep acting, which accelerates emotional strain over time. These findings provide a robust foundation for understanding the relationship between role ambiguity and emotional demands in the workplace. Thus, uncertainty generated by role ambiguity not only undermines clarity but also forces employees to manage emotions more intensively, often without adequate support from management. In organizations where leaders fail to recognize or validate these emotional pressures, employees are more likely to report frustration and strain. This underscores the need for management to recognize and validate emotional pressures, as they can significantly impact employee well-being. Within the JD-R framework, this finding highlights role ambiguity as a hindrance demand that escalates the emotional labor burden, thereby increasing emotional demands.

Emotional demands play a crucial role in supporting the third hypothesis, acting as a mediating mechanism that translates role ambiguity into turnover intentions. This is a significant finding, as it provides a deeper understanding of the health impairment pathway of the JD-R model. Ambiguous roles create uncertainty and conflict, increasing the need for emotional regulation. The constant regulation depletes psychological resources, leading to emotional exhaustion and subsequent withdrawal behaviors, including the intention to quit (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017; Geisler et al., 2019).

Several studies lend empirical support to this mediating role, affirming the comprehensive nature of our research. This study’s findings and explanations are consistent with those of other studies using the Job Demands-Resources Model. Previous studies (Andersen et al., 2017; Elfering et al., 2017) demonstrated that emotional demand can mediate the connection between role ambiguity and intentions to quit. Furthermore, De Beer and Bianchi (2017) demonstrated that emotional exhaustion mediates the effect of job demands on burnout and subsequent turnover intentions. Similarly, Zhang et al. (2023) found that role ambiguity significantly predicted emotional exhaustion, which in turn increased work alienation and the desire to leave among healthcare workers. Moreover, Cengiz et al. (2021) confirmed that emotional strain serves as a psychological bridge between role-related stressors and adverse work outcomes, including dissatisfaction and turnover. Meta-analytic evidence also points to the mediating role of strain in stressor–outcome relationships. Zapf et al. (2021) showed that emotion work requires surface and deep acting, both of which gradually exhaust employees’ emotional resources and elevate turnover risk. This suggests that it is not merely role ambiguity itself that prompts employees to leave, but rather the emotional burden of managing the consequences of ambiguity.

Taken together, these findings indicate that emotional demands explain how and why role ambiguity leads to turnover intentions, highlighting the practical implications of our research. Ambiguity initiates a process of emotional regulation, which culminates in exhaustion and withdrawal. Thus, emotional demands represent a critical mediator that links job demands to employee attrition.

Supporting the fourth hypothesis, trust in management plays a pivotal role in moderating the relationship between role ambiguity and employees’ intentions to quit. It empowers employees by reducing the likelihood of turnover even in contexts of role uncertainty. Within the JD-R model, trust functions as a job resource that enables employees to reframe ambiguous situations as manageable challenges rather than insurmountable threats (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017). When employees perceive managers as reliable, fair, and transparent, they are more inclined to tolerate unclear roles without translating this ambiguity into withdrawal intentions. Clear evidence suggests that role ambiguity increases intention to leave; nevertheless, this effect is contingent upon backing from public sector management, upon which trust and confidence are based. The degree to which employees trust their management determines the amount and severity of their quitting. That is why TIM minimizes the impact of role ambiguity on the drive to quit. Furthermore, trusting that the organization’s leadership is honest reduces the likelihood that workers will quit due to ambiguity in responsibilities. This phenomenon is known as the buffering effect of trust in management. Workers who trust their leaders’ honesty are less likely to focus on defending their territory from dishonest bosses and more likely to engage in productive discussions that clarify vague job descriptions.

Empirical studies provide strong support for this buffering effect. De Clercq and Belausteguigoitia (2017) found that resilient and resourceful employees who trusted their managers were less likely to interpret role ambiguity as a reason to quit. Similarly, Jiang and Probst (2019) showed that managerial trust mitigates the adverse outcomes of job insecurity, suggesting that trust reshapes how employees perceive and react to demanding work conditions. More recently, Jaiswal et al. (2022) confirmed that trust in management enhances engagement, thereby counteracting the disengagement and turnover tendencies typically triggered by ambiguous roles.

Meta-analytic findings also reinforce this relationship. Legood et al. (2020) concluded that trust in leadership significantly strengthens the positive effects of leadership on performance and well-being, while buffering the harmful impact of role-related stressors. In the public-sector context, Mwakyusa and Mcharo (2024) observed that institutional trust moderates the effects of workplace uncertainty on employee performance, underscoring the protective role of managerial credibility in environments where ambiguity is prevalent.

The results indicate that trust in management serves as a buffer for employees during periods of role uncertainty, which can lead to dissatisfaction and intentions to resign. Employees are less inclined to prematurely resign when they have confidence in their superiors to provide clarification, equitable treatment, and support in the long run. This trust, particularly in the face of ambiguity, significantly reduces resignation intentions, instilling a sense of confidence in the employees. Conversely, employees tend to perceive ambiguity as unacceptable and expedite their resignation plans when there is insufficient trust in their supervisors. Thus, based on the JD-R paradigm, trust in management is a crucial motivational element. It provides organizations with a robust mechanism to retain employees by mitigating the adverse impacts of role ambiguity on turnover intentions.

Finally, the H5, which states that trust in management significantly moderates the relationship between role ambiguity and emotional demands, was unsupported. The lack of trust in management as a moderator in the relationship between role ambiguity and emotional demands could be attributed to public service employees’ limited trust in their superiors to address their emotional needs, making role ambiguity a significant factor in their work. However, recent evidence suggests that the moderating role of trust may be limited or domain-specific. For instance, Naim and Ozyilmaz (2023) found that managerial trust did not significantly reduce employees’ affective strain, even though it buffered cognitive outcomes like job insecurity perceptions. Similarly, Tucker et al. (2020) argued that emotional demands are intrapersonal and immediate, requiring individuals to regulate their feelings and emotional expressions in real time; as such, resources like trust may not directly alleviate the emotional labor needed in ambiguous contexts. Instead, personal resources (e.g., resilience, emotional intelligence) or social support from peers may be more effective buffers of emotional strain (Zapf et al., 2021).

This distinction highlights a necessary theoretical refinement: trust in management appears more effective at buffering attitudinal outcomes (e.g., intentions to quit, disengagement) than emotional outcomes (e.g., emotional exhaustion, strain). In other words, trust helps employees reframe role ambiguity cognitively, reducing the likelihood that it translates into turnover intentions; however, it does little to reduce the emotional labor of suppressing frustration or maintaining professionalism under uncertainty.

However, this study contributes to the growing recognition of domain-specific buffering effects within the JD-R framework. By showing that trust in management significantly weakens the link between role ambiguity and quitting intentions (H4) but does not moderate the ambiguity–emotional demands relationship (H5), it underscores that not all resources buffer all demands equally. This differentiation from earlier assumptions (e.g., Bakker & Demerouti, 2017; Legood et al., 2020) enriches the theory by clarifying boundary conditions of the buffering hypothesis. From a managerial standpoint, this finding implies that building trust alone is insufficient to address employees’ emotional demands. It highlights the urgent need for organizations to complement trust with targeted interventions such as emotional intelligence training, employee assistance programs, and stress management resources to reduce the emotional strain that arises from ambiguous roles directly.

5.2. Theoretical Implications

The present study contributes to a theoretical lens, where much of the JD-R research has been conducted in Western, private-sector contexts. By applying JD-R in a developing-country public sector, this study broadens the model’s scope and tests its robustness in an environment with high ambiguity and fragile trust. This contextual contribution not only advances theory but also provides region-specific knowledge that can significantly enhance public service management practices across Lesotho and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Second, workplace transparency plays a crucial role in reducing the likelihood of employees quitting their jobs due to ambiguity in responsibilities. This is due to the buffering effect of confidence in management. Role ambiguity, when left unaddressed, can lead to significant stress among employees, causing them to question their ability to perform their jobs effectively (Chen et al., 2011; Schmidt et al., 2014). The stress induced by excessive role ambiguity is a pressing issue that warrants attention and resolution. Employees are more likely to consider leaving their current positions when dissatisfied with their lack of training and direction in carrying out their responsibilities (Schmidt et al., 2014). According to Showail et al. (2013), employees may perceive a lack of information as a sign of weak organizational support. This, in turn, affects how employees develop confidence in their management.

Instead of feeling disheartened, employees often turn to each other for advice on how to navigate the uncertainty that stems from unclear responsibilities. This reliance on peer support highlights the significance of informal networks in mitigating role ambiguity. However, it is crucial for management to also play a role in providing emotional support to employees. Our research found that the coefficient relationship between trust in management and ROA and EMD. The significance of our findings lies in their ability to shed light on situations where employees are more likely to leave their jobs due to a lack of job clarity.

5.3. Managerial Implications

This research, which examines the relationship between role ambiguity and employees’ emotional demands as a predictor of planned turnover, has significant practical implications. Situational conditions, such as job demands and resources, strongly influence the intention to quit a job. Organizations should strive to prevent employees from being unclear about how to accomplish their duties due to a lack of clear instructions. Some employees may be reluctant to admit their uncertainty, which could lead to increased workloads or a public perception of incompetence. Therefore, it’s crucial that managers take the lead in outlining the work’s objectives and duties in detail at the start of the job. Additionally, organizations must cultivate and maintain trust-based relationships.

Furthermore, as evidence of the high prevalence of role ambiguity, public sector employees in Lesotho often face demands from citizens, political interference, and resource shortages that increase emotional labor and stress (Ntoi & Makoa, 2022). Employees must stay professional and calm while dealing with conflicting expectations from superiors, stakeholders, and the public. These situations naturally create a context for emotional demands related to emotional labor and stress. It is a known fact that employees can better deal with the ambiguity that comes from imprecise positions because of the improved sharing and comfort that these qualities bring, whether in connection with immediate colleagues or organizational decision makers in general. Workers should be less likely to want to leave their positions in the face of significant role ambiguity if they have healthy, trusting relationships with their employer. The emphasis on the importance of healthy, trusting relationships in the workplace is intended to convey the urgency of fostering such environments. Conversely, if workers perceive their boss as untrustworthy or lack awareness of their job emotions, they are less inclined to seek out and learn from others’ perspectives on suitable solutions. Training programs and assessment systems that encourage employees to be truthful and open in their dealings with peers, while also supporting the establishment of policies for fair decision-making, can thus be beneficial to organizations.

It’s crucial to understand that while TIM does play a significant role in reducing quitting intentions, it doesn’t necessarily buffer the affective strain caused by ambiguity (ROA → EMD). Emotional demands are inherently intrapersonal: they stem from the effort to regulate emotions and maintain composure in stressful situations (Zapf et al., 2021). Unlike quitting intentions, which are partly cognitive and relational, emotional demands are felt at the individual level and require personal resources such as emotional intelligence, resilience, or coping strategies (Tucker et al., 2020). Therefore, while TIM can reduce the decision to quit under ambiguity, it cannot remove the emotional labor required to navigate the uncertainty. This distinction advances JD-R theory by showing that not all resources buffer all outcomes equally—they may be domain-specific.

5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

Although the findings of this study shed light on the characteristics influencing public servants’ intentions to quit, it is essential to recognize some significant limitations. First, the study used a cross-sectional design, which restricts the ability to determine causality between role ambiguity, emotional demand, trust in management, and the intention to leave. Additionally, the purposive sampling technique employed for targeted investigations introduces potential bias and limits the generalizability of the results. The current work environment, characterized by unclear job descriptions, may exacerbate issues when negative feelings about leaving the organization take hold. Nonetheless, these findings remain valuable. While PLS-SEM, a statistical method that tests complex structural relationships, was utilized, longitudinal research would provide more insight over time, better understanding the emotional demands, the moderating effect of trust in management, and the contextual factors that shape the causal links between employees’ feelings of job uncertainty and their plans to quit.

Second, the study relied heavily on self-reported measures, which may have introduced social desirability bias. This bias could have led participants to respond in a way that they believe is socially acceptable or desirable, particularly for constructs such as emotional demand and role ambiguity. For instance, employees might have underreported their emotional demand or role ambiguity to avoid appearing incompetent or dissatisfied. Although steps were taken to reduce common method variance (Podsakoff et al., 2003), future studies should gather data from a more diverse range of sources to improve validity.

Thirdly, the need for further research is not just important; it is urgent and crucial. Future research may delve into this influencing factor in greater detail. According to our theory, job ambiguity intensifies employees’ intentions to leave, primarily because they worry about failing to meet organizational expectations. This apprehension jeopardizes employees’ personal growth, career opportunities, and emotional well-being in the workplace. Furthermore, the researchers were unaware of the identity of the non-respondents portrayed. Ministries that refuse to participate in the study and employees who choose not to complete the survey may experience lower overall satisfaction and feel ashamed to acknowledge it. Finally, role ambiguity is posited as a crucial factor influencing the decision to resign from employment. Further investigation is necessary to identify the elements influencing job ambiguity among public personnel in Lesotho and to expand it to encompass additional industries and sectors, thereby facilitating comparison analysis among them with replicability in diverse socio-economic contexts. Given the numerous unknown variables, further research is necessary to address the deficiencies by incorporating self-assessment variables such as emotional stability, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.

6. Conclusions

This study aimed to investigate the impact of role ambiguity and emotional demands on employees’ intentions to quit, as well as whether trust in management moderates these relationships. Anchored in the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, the results confirm that role ambiguity directly predicts turnover intentions and indirectly fuels quitting through heightened emotional demands. Trust in management serves as a critical resource that buffers quitting intentions in ambiguous situations, but it does not mitigate the emotional strain employees experience when navigating unclear roles. The findings refine JD-R theory by demonstrating that resources are not universally protective; instead, they exert domain-specific buffering effects. For instance, trust in management may be more effective in reducing turnover intentions in roles with high ambiguity but less effective in reducing emotional strain in such roles. Trust in management reduces cognitive/attitudinal outcomes (such as turnover intentions) but is less effective in curbing affective outcomes (such as emotional strain). This distinction contributes to a more nuanced application of JD-R in organizational behavior research. For organizations, especially within the public sector, the study underscores the urgent need to reduce role ambiguity through more precise job descriptions, transparent communication, and structured feedback systems. Human resource policies should institutionalize programs that promote emotional well-being, including counseling, stress management, and resilience training, to address the strain dimension of emotional demands. Importantly, trust in management must be nurtured through ethical leadership, fair decision-making, and inclusive communication practices.

At a broader governance level, the results underscore the urgent need for actionable reforms. These include civil service and leadership development policies, well-being mandates, and the enforcement of transparency and accountability at managerial levels. These reforms are crucial to rebuilding institutional trust within the Lesotho public sector. Finally, addressing turnover intentions in the public sector requires multi-level interventions. These include organizational practices that clarify roles and build trust, HR policies that strengthen well-being and retention, and governmental reforms that institutionalize integrity and accountability. By integrating these approaches, policymakers and managers in Lesotho—and in similar developing contexts—can significantly reduce employee attrition, safeguard institutional capacity, and enhance the delivery of public services. This potential impact of the proposed reforms is a reason for optimism and a call to action for the future.