The Influence of Affective Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Job Stress On Turnover Intention: A Study of Nepalese Bank Employees
The Influence of Affective Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Job Stress On Turnover Intention: A Study of Nepalese Bank Employees
The Influence of Affective Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Job Stress On Turnover Intention: A Study of Nepalese Bank Employees
9, Supplementary Issue 1 88
Vimolwan Yukongdi*
School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology
Pooja Shrestha
School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology
ABSTRACT
This study examined the effect of affective commitment, job satisfaction and job stress
on intention to leave among bank employees in Nepal. Data were collected using a
questionnaire-based survey of 282 employees working at a bank in Kathmandu. Data
were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results suggested that affective
commitment and job satisfaction had a negative effect, while job stress had a positive
influence on turnover intention. Specifically, job satisfaction had the strongest effect on
turnover intention, followed by job stress and affective commitment. Practical
implications for the study are discussed.
1. INTRODUCTION
In recent times, employee retention has become increasingly difficult and has posed as a
problem in many organizations (Gangwani, Dubey & Dasgupta, 2016). The constantly
growing number of organizations that seek skilled, knowledgeable and talented staff
have created competition in the labor market for such employees and has also limited
their availability (Michael, Prince & Chacko, 2016). Hence, retaining talent has
emerged as a major challenge for organizations worldwide.
Employee turnover not only has financial costs but also results in the loss of skills,
knowledge and business relationships (Ramlall, 2003). Furthermore, the need and
expectations of employees are changing. Hence, it is essential for organizations to
understand the factors triggering intent to leave and to develop appropriate strategies to
retain talent. Since turnover intention is a precursor of actual turnover (Steel & Ovalle,
1984), employers can influence employees’ intention to leave as they have not yet quit
their jobs, therefore, it is crucial to understand the factors leading to eventual employee
turnover which is the main aim of the present study.
There are many possible reasons why an employee might quit their jobs or intend to do
so. An extensive review of the literature identified three relevant variables: affective
organizational commitment, job satisfaction (see for example Kim, Tam, Kim & Rhee,
2017) and job stress which have been frequently regarded as antecedents of intention to
leave.
In sum, the purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence turnover
intention. The current study seeks to address the extent to which affective
organizational commitment, job satisfaction and job stress influence employees’
intention to leave. The paper begins by presenting a review of relevant literature, a
formulation of hypotheses and the conceptual framework for the study. In subsequent
sections, data collection and data analysis are described, followed by a discussion of the
results. The paper concludes with implications for managers.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Turnover Intention
Turnover intention refers to a possibility of individuals voluntarily switching jobs
during a specific period of time (Sousa-Poza & Henneberger, 2004). Turnover intention
is an intent of an employee to quit the organization and it is an immediate predecessor
of actual turnover. Thus, it is a mediator between attitudes triggering intention to leave
and leaving an organization (Glissmeyer, Bishop & Fass, 2007). An understanding of
the factors which stimulate intention to leave or voluntary exit is quite useful for an
organization to modify their policies and strategies of human resource management in
order to retain their best talent (Stewart, Volpone, Avery, & McKay, 2011).
Loquet, 2004). Extreme level of job stress impairs individual’s performance and also
results in undesirable behavioral and attitudinal work outcomes (Kelloway, Frone &
Barling, 2005) . High level of work-related stress induces a turnover reaction (Sawyerr,
Srinivas & Wang, 2009). Feelings of stress such as feeling tense or emotionally drained
not only reduces the level of job satisfaction but can also increase employees’ intention
to quit. Hence, it is predicted that employees experiencing high level of job stress are
more likely to leave their organizations (Shih-Tse Wang, 2014).
3. CONCEPTUAL MODEL
The conceptual model for the present study (Figure 1) depicts the relationship between
the independent variables: affective commitment and job satisfaction which are
predicted to have a negative effect on intention to quit; while job stress is hypothesized
to have a positive influence on turnover intention, the dependent variable.
Affective Commitment
H1
Job Satisfaction H2
(Pay, coworkers, supervisors,
nature of work, growth Turnover Intention
opportunities)
H3
Job Stress
4. METHODOLOGY
Data were collected based on a survey of 282 full-time employees (81 % response rate)
working at a bank in Kathmandu, Nepal. A questionnaire was developed based on pre-
validated instruments used in previous research. Data were analyzed using multiple
regression analysis. The first section of the survey consists of demographic questions
relating to age, gender, educational background, occupational level, and employment
status.
The second section includes questions measuring the key variables in the study. The
response scale is a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree (coded 1),
disagree (2), neutral (3), agree (4) to strongly agree (5). Eight questions measure
affective commitment based on the work of Meyer & Allen (1991). An example of a
question measuring affective commitment is “I would be very happy to spend the rest of
my career with my organization” Scale reliability was acceptable (α = .87).
Job satisfaction is based on 9 questions derived from prior research (Ramalho Luz, Luiz
de Paula & de Oliveira, 2018). Respondents are asked to rate their degree of
satisfaction with pay, co-workers, supervisors, career growth opportunities, and the
nature of the job. A sample question includes, “I am satisfied with the career growth
opportunities in the job.” The scale showed acceptable Cronbach alpha coefficient of
0.73.
Job stress is based on 7 questions adopted from Firth, et al. (2004). A sample item
includes “I feel emotionally drained by my job”. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was
satisfactory (α = 0.73).
The final section of the questionnaire includes two open-ended questions that request
respondents to identify two or three factors that led them to seek employment elsewhere
and those factors that kept them from looking for other jobs.
Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses and the influence of
affective commitment, job satisfaction, job stress on turnover intention.
The regression model was statistically significant F (3, 278) = 84.096; p < .001. and job
satisfaction, affective commitment, job stress explained 47% of the variance in turnover
intention (Table 1).
Coefficientsa
Unstandardized Standardized Collinearity
Coefficients Coefficients Statistics
Model B Std. Error Beta T Sig. Tolerance VIF
1 (Constant) 4.404 .326 13.505 .000
Affective -.306 .062 -.269 -4.949 .000 .640 1.562
commitment
Job -.460 .080 -.331 -5.737 .000 .568 1.760
satisfaction
Job stress .369 .065 .273 5.717 .000 .827 1.209
a. Dependent Variable: Turnover intention
The variance inflation factors (VIF) were less than 5 (Table 2) while tolerance values
were within the acceptable range (0.1 – 1.0) for all variables (Kutner, Nachtsheim and
Neter, 2004). Thus, the regression model was free from multi-collinearity problems.
The results indicated that job satisfaction (β= -0.460, p <0.001) had a greater impact on
employees’ intention to leave followed by job stress (β= 0.369, p <0.001) and affective
commitment (β= -0.306, p <0.001). The negative beta coefficient for affective
commitment and job satisfaction indicated that a higher degree of job satisfaction
(hypothesis 2) and higher level of affective commitment (hypothesis 1) predicted a
lower probability of intention to quit while employees experiencing a greater degree of
job stress (hypothesis 3) were more likely to express a stronger intention to quit their
jobs. Thus hypotheses 1, 2 and 3 are supported.
is consistent with prior research (Allen & Meyer , 1990). Hypothesis 2 predicted that
job satisfaction would have a negative effect on turnover intention. The finding from
the current study provides evidence to support this hypothesis and is consistent with
prior studies that found as job satisfaction increases, intention to quit decreases
(Hellman, 1997; Cavanagh & Coffin, 1992). Finally, hypothesis 3 posited that job
stress would have a positive influence on intention to turnover. The result from this
study supports this prediction and other studies that have found a high degree of job
stress would have a greater influence on intention to quit (Shih-Tse Wang, 2014).
Respondents’ answers to two open-ended questions revealed that the most frequently
cited factors that would influence employees to quit include lack of career growth
opportunities and lack of timely promotion, compensation commensurate with higher
position, working environment, extreme work pressure, work relationships with
supervisors and co-workers, motivational factors, the nature of jobs, lack of work-life
balance, and behavior of management towards employees. The complete list of factors
is given below (listed in alphabetical order).
The second open-ended question asks employees to mention factors/reasons that kept
them from seeking jobs elsewhere. The responses are presented in alphabetical order
below:
Among the factors that were mentioned by employees, the most frequently cited
employee retention factors were related to job security, benefits/bonus and circle of
friendly colleagues in department/family environment within a department.
Furthermore, one of the reasons mentioned by employees that prevented employees
from seeking employment elsewhere was attachment towards the organization. This is
consistent with the results of multiple regression analysis which indicate that higher
affective commitment towards organization is related to lower turnover intention.
trust and cooperation could also enhance organizational commitment (Saleh, Lee &
Prien, 2012).
Job stress is another crucial factor found to influence employees’ intention to leave the
organization. Job stress is increasing as financial institutions are undergoing mergers
and acquisitions (Chen, Lin, & Lien, 2011), particularly, among banks in Nepal in
recent years. The organization could attempt to reduce job stress among employees by
introducing flexible working hours. The work pressure should be in line with the
capability of employees along with the resources. Finally, occasional stress
management programs could also be beneficial.
In concluding, this study has contributed to existing literature regarding the relationship
between affective commitment, job satisfaction and job stress. The results confirm that
when employees are satisfied with their jobs and are emotionally attached to the
organization, they are less likely to think of quitting their jobs while stress at work could
contribute to increasing turnover intention.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge and express appreciation to the men and women who
so generously volunteered their time to participate in this study.
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