Artificial Intelligence and Employee Stability: The Mediating Effect of Job Engagement in Romania's Health Tourism Sector

This paper investigates the influence that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has on job security, which in this study includes the severity of threats (ST) and feelings of powerlessness (PO), within the Romanian health tourism sector. Additionally, we analyse how AI-driven job engagement (ENG) impacts employees' turnover intentions (TI), providing perspectives about how to maintain workforce stability. As the recent literature indicates, there is growing concern among employees in various sectors regarding to the potential that Ai have to replace human labour, mostly with a specific focus on roles requiring interpersonal skills, such as those in health tourism. Utilising the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and also by employing a quantitative methodology, we surveyed 131 spa and hotel employees using validated and multi-item scales to measure job engagement components and job insecurity dimensions. Our results reveal significant relationships between perceived powerlessness, job engagement, and turnover intentions, showing the mediating role of job engagement. In the current study, we found that educational level moderates the relationship between perceived job, threats, and turnover intentions. This indicates an interaction between employee characteristics and perceptions of the threats that AI is bringing. With this study, we contribute both to the theoretical understanding of how AI impacts employee psychology in the market of health tourism, and also by offering insights into managing workforce transitions in the face of technological advancements.