Occupational stress for employee turnover intention: mediation effect of service climate and emotion regulation

What is it about?

This study examines the effect of occupational stress on turnover intention of employees working in the Banking industry. We examine the mediating effects of service climate and emotional regulations of the employees in the relationship between occupational stress and intention to leave the organization. This study followed stratified sampling technique for data collection from employees of ten commercial banks based on their financial performance of top five and bottom five out of 27 banks. Data were collected at two stages, first from 465 employees for occupational stressors and second from 408 employees for turnover intention, service climate, and emotional regulation. Harman's one-factor test was conducted to examine the common method bias. Confirmatory factor analysis, regression analysis, and Preacher and Hayes Process Macro approach were used to examine mediation effect. Three occupational stressors as workload, role ambiguity, and growth opportunity expectations were identified as the occupational stressors in the banking industry; predicting a positive relation of overall occupational stress to the intention to turnover. Service climate and the employees' emotion regulation ability mediate the relationship between stress and turnover intention. It implies that the workload, role ambiguity and growth opportunity expectations of the employees cause stress in employees which may lead to have turnover intention. Being the competitive industry; the banking industry, managers can address such stressors by enhancing the service climate and formulating policies and programs to strengthen the emotion regulation which is evidence to strengthen the reciprocity approach of social exchange theory in employees' commitment. This study contributes to the social exchange theory and attempts to fulfill the gaps in empirical research on personnel psychology, human capital, and organization management in developing countries.

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