Moderation of Work Happiness in the Influence of Empowering Leadership on Job Hopping of Generation Y Employees in the Hotel Industry

The high level of job hopping in the hospitality industry in Bali has become a strategic issue in human resource management after the pandemic. BPS data (2023) shows that the turnover rate reaches 28% per year and the majority comes from Generation Y employees. The study used a quantitative approach through a survey of 95 Generation Y respondents, with Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) modeling to analyze the data. The results of the study show that empowering leadership has a positive and significant influence on job hopping. Work happiness also has a positive and significant effect on job hopping. In addition, work happiness has been proven to strengthen the relationship between empowering leadership and job hopping. These findings show the existence of a leadership paradox, where empowering leadership conditions and a pleasant work environment actually increase employees' confidence and readiness to seek new career opportunities. Therefore, employee retention strategies in the hotel industry need to be directed at strengthening career anchoring and developing internal career paths so that happiness and confidence do not lead to outward mobility in the organization.