Workforce retention in the forest industry: a structural equation modeling analysis of perceived safety risk, job satisfaction, job stress, and work engagement

Introduction Forest-based industries face chronic labor shortages and an aging workforce, raising concerns about workforce sustainability in safety-critical and physically demanding work settings. While physical risks in forestry are well documented, less is known about how perceived safety appraisals and psychosocial conditions jointly relate to turnover intention. Grounded in the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) framework, this study examined the structural relationships among perceived safety risk, job satisfaction, job stress, work engagement, and turnover intention within a five-variable structural equation model. Methods Using pooled cross-sectional survey data from 1,822 workers across six major forestry sectors in South Korea (2022–2024), we estimated the model and tested indirect pathways using bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 resamples). PSR was assessed as a perceived accident-likelihood item. To support robustness of the measurement structure, the CFA specification was re-estimated in two stratified split-half subsamples, yielding comparable fit indices across subsamples. Results In the structural model, PSR was associated with lower job satisfaction and higher job stress and showed a positive association with turnover intention, whereas its direct association with work engagement was not supported. Job satisfaction exhibited an “indirect-only” pattern: it was not directly associated with turnover intention but was linked to turnover intention through pathways involving lower stress and higher engagement; work engagement was inversely associated with turnover intention. Group comparisons further indicated that less favorable profiles clustered in the Forest Product Production sector and field-site contexts, where higher perceived safety risk and less favorable psychosocial conditions co-occurred. Discussion These findings suggest that workforce sustainability may benefit from a dual emphasis on safety-centered modernization in field operations and organizational practices that mitigate psychosocial strain and support engagement-related resources. Addressing these human dimensions may be important for maintaining the continuity of forest operations and supporting sustainable forest management goals.