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Organizational Psychology, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 2, P. 139-155. DOI: 10.17323/2312-5942-2024-14-2-139-155
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
www.orgpsyjournal.hse.ru
Impact of psychosocial stressors on employee turnover intention mediated by job stress: An analysis of apparel industry workers
Mimnun SULTANA
United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohd Hasanur Raihan JOARDER
United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Shafiqul ISLAM
United International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Md.Jahangir ALAM
Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Abstract. Purpose. The current study aims to determine the association between the psychosocial stressor and turnover intention of apparel industry workers in Bangladesh and examine the mediating effect of job stress between psychosocial stressors and turnover intention in the same context. Methodology. Purposive sampling was used to interview 252 full-time employees of the apparel industry from eight different sectors (sewing, cutting, finishing, spot removal, etc.) based on organizational variations in organization size, location, and compliance regulations. The study framed the adapted questionnaire with 28 items on a five-point Likert Scale ranging from "1" (strongly agree) to "5" (strongly disagree). AMOS was used for structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis to track the result of the hypothesis. Findings. Psychosocial stressors significantly affect job stress (b = 0.57, t = 7.522, p < .001) and the intention to leave one's job (b = 0.21, t = 2.64, p < .05). The influence of job stress on turnover intention was also found to be significant (b = 0.64, t = 7.053 and p < .001). The findings reveal that the relationship between the psychosocial stressors and the intention to leave the job was mediated by job stress. Implications for practice. Managers need to priorities and take necessary measures to reduce job stress by eliminating psychosocial stressors to minimize the impact of psychosocial stressors on workers' intention to leave the industry.
Keywords: psychosocial stressor, job stress, turnover, apparel workers.
Introduction
Stress at work is an increasingly prevalent aspect of modern business and a widespread concern for human resource managers worldwide (Ahn, Chaoyu, 2019). W. Schaufeli and colleagues defined job stress as a condition in which an individual's work environment may increase the likelihood of
Address: United City, Madani Avenue, Vatara, Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail: mimnun@bus.uiu.ac.bd
poor mental and physical health due to internalizing an inadequate response to stressors frequently experienced by employees at their workplace (Schaufeli et al., 2017). Employees might experience stress when they believe that the job demands from their employer do not accurately match their competencies and offer them less support and control at work. On the other hand, stressful work characteristics are defined as work conditions that are assumed, hypothesized, and cumulatively demonstrated to have specific undesirable effects, adverse physiological changes, decrements in role performance, emotional tensions, and physical symptoms (Kahn, Byosiere, 1992).
Emotional stress and behavioural reactions to stressors can harm individual employees and the organization (Ganster, Perrewe, 2010). Stressful work conditions positively and negatively impact individuals, and employees' physiology, psychology, and behaviour are affected by work stress, which most often — if not always — leads to people quitting their jobs (Ahn, Chaoyu, 2019). However, the literature on job stress and employee turnover is equivocal. This requires a new research paradigm to evaluate potential mediating factors in understanding the relationship between workplace stressors and withdrawal behaviours as turnover intentions. Though workplace stressors, job stress and turnover intention vary across individuals, organizations or locations of work (Chen et al., 2011), the current study aims to revisit the relationship between workplace stressors, job stress and employee turnover and contribute to filling gaps in the existing literature, particularly in the context of the Bangladesh apparel industry.
Apparel industries in Bangladesh and turnover scenarios
Unquestionably, apparel industries have created enormous employment opportunities for women in Bangladesh (Swazan, Das, 2022). Currently, 4.22 million labors are working in this sector (Haque, Bari, 2021). After a modest outset in the 1980s, Bangladesh is the second-largest manufacturer and exporter of ready-made clothing worldwide. Since the 1990s, Bangladesh's RMG industry has had one of the fastest growth rates in the world and has served as the country's primary source of foreign revenues for the last couple of decades (Swazan, Das, 2022). Nevertheless, such dramatic economic successes are often overshadowed due to working conditions in the apparel sector resulting in stressful work conditions and vulnerabilities (Tong et al., 2018).
The apparel sector in Bangladesh has different types of workplace stressors, and most of them are related to the internal workplace environment (Peterson, 2016). Similarly, research evidence showed how apparel industry workers are suffered from various psychosocial obstacles such as delays in wage payment, low and insufficient wages to survive, and sexual harassment, physical abuse, verbal abuse, inadequate maternity and sick leave, poor working environment, workplace bullying (Mariani, Valenti, 2013; Osmani, Hossen, 2018; Steinisch et al., 2013). Such challenges are directly linked to elevated psychological job stress resulting in high employee turnover intentions (Rubel et al., 2017; Saxena, Salze-lozac, 2010). Due to this, Bangladesh apparel industry owners suffer from significant labour shortages as 20 percent of employees leave the organization, and 10 percent of employees migrate abroad annually because of their instability induced by various job-related stresses (Saxena, Salze-lozac, 2010). Apparel workers also change jobs frequently due to high workloads and mental stress (Sraboni Ahmed et al., 2018). Moreover, non-managerial employees' (labor) intentions to leave are higher than projected, and the situation has become a big concern in the apparel industry (Rubel et al., 2017). So, employee turnover is a significant problem in Bangladesh's apparel industry and needs to be managed for the sustainable growth of this industry.
Individual productivity, organisational performance, mental stability, and other characteristics of sustained success are all impacted by high turnover intentions in the apparel industry of Bangladesh (Habib et al., 2018). Work stress depletes workers' energy, confidence, and mental health (Steinisch
et al., 2013), leading to anger, hypertension, insomnia, anxiety, and violent attitudes (Akhter et al., 2019). Turnover and turnover intention also increase the expenses associated with staff retention, new hire, time, training and development. Due to workforce shortages, orders are often cancelled because of an extended lead time, resulting in huge losses (Chowdhury, Keya, 2022). As a result, researchers and industrial managers are interested in searching for novel approaches to reducing workplace stresses that can contribute to retaining employees, as noted by S. Ahmed and colleagues (Ahmed et al., 2018).
Literature reviews and conceptual framework
Psychosocial stressor
The terms "psychosocial hazard" and "psychosocial stressors" are used interchangeably in scientific literature. The term "psychological stressors" refer to dysfunctional person-environment interactions in terms of cognitive processes and emotional responses (Cox et al., 2000). If an employee's attitude and needs do not align with wage, employer's behaviour, environment, peer relationships, and relations with superiors, then psychological discontent and mental tension develop. When work features do not match an individual's traits, mental demands and expectations problematize an individual's performance, and eventually, a lack of social support generates psychosocial pressures (Lee, Kim, 2020). Occasionally, homework interface imbalances produce psychosocial threats (French et al., 2018). Psychosocial stressors are also caused by corporate cultures, job design, less support for problem-solving, bureaucracy and unclear organizational objectives.
Job stress
M. S. Taylor defines stress as a negative emotional experience followed by predictable biochemical, physiological, cognitive, and behavioural changes aimed at changing the events or adapting to their effects (Locke, Taylor, 1990). Among the several types of stress in organizational psychology, the most difficult region for the current management is coping with job stress-related problems (PVS, 2018). Job stress materializes when a worker's abilities, resources, or needs are incompatible with the job's responsibilities (Armstrong et al., 2015). Though there are mixed findings that stress is often viewed as a negative stimulus that results in psychological burden and undesirable physiological symptoms, the positive consequence of job stress is enhanced performance. However, the detrimental impacts of occupational stress may not be immediately apparent, but its long-term influence causes life-threatening physical and psychological damage (Park et al., 2020; Steinisch et al., 2013).
Previous research on the health of workers in the apparel industry indicates that job stress negatively affects individual health outcomes (Steinisch et al., 2013). This stress is attributed to a wide range of personal, environmental, social, and psychological factors induced by various occupations, settings, and circumstances. Further, various components of the workplace, social, and personal lives have contributed to employees' job stress. Among these, role conflict and work-family conflict (Siswanto et al., 2022), job demand and workloads (Birhanu et al., 2018) are a few intervening variables that cause job stress. Since job stress is a risk and a barrier to individual and organizational performance, organizations must concentrate on variables that cause job stress.
Turnover intention
Turnover intention is the mental condition of employees who dislike their current job and are considering leaving for a better position (Akgunduz, Sanli, 2017). It is typically considered withdrawal behaviour, and employees carefully plan to leave their current workplace. Turnover intention can be defined as employees' thoughts and attitudes when seeking a new job because
of stress faced in the current job (Vui-yee, Yen-hwa, 2019). However, the turnover intention is a complex phenomenon and is described as a negative psychological response to occupational, work, environmental, or organizational problems (e.g., unfair evaluation, gender discrimination, etc.) (Spector, Fox, 2002). Turnover intention can be predicted by personal and organizational factors, such as work-family conflict, organizational policy, and job satisfaction (Mohsin et al., 2013). Besides organizational factors, K. D. H. Saraswati and D. Lie emphasized behavioural characteristics, such as stress, satisfaction, and discontent, as predicting variables of turnover intention (Saraswati, Lie, 2021). I. Meirina with colleagues emphasize that it is alarming if the intention rate exceeds 10% within a year of an organization(Meirina et al., 2018). However, the likelihood of employees leaving might be decreased if they have a more positive perception and attitude towards the company (Park et al., 2020). Organizations are constrained to deal with the problem and need more qualified human resources due to their aim to turn over their workforce.
Psychosocial stressor and job stress
Stress at work impacts an individual's physical, psychological, and behavioural health. Work absenteeism and diminished effectiveness result from workplace stress (Bhui et al., 2012). Psychosocial stressor was previously regarded as an inherent component of the stress process perceived and experienced by employees (Kortum et al., 2011). The emergence of new psychosocial stressors in the workplace results from shifting work patterns and increasing job pressures. The effects of psychosocial risk on workers' physical and mental health are significant (Erwandi et al., 2021). The association between work-related stress and psychosocial stressors intensifies when the elevated stress level affects both victims and witnesses. The prolonged stimulation of the body's stress response can result in many harmful physiological changes like hypertension, blood vessel blockage and psychological changes like anxiety, sadness, and addiction (Hendrix et al., 1985).
In the apparel industry of Bangladesh, repetitious work increases worker tiredness, and a heavy workload causes mental stress (Shaheen Ahmed, 2014). Psychosocial concerns such as late payment, verbal and physical abuse, excessive work hours etc., cause anxiety, sadness, and other physical symptoms (Akhter et al., 2017). The perception of increased job stress due to psychosocial risk increases depressive symptoms among low-income mothers (Chang et al., 2021). D. Erwandi and colleagues mentioned that the most frequently experienced stressors are psychosocial hazards accounting for almost 62% (Erwandi et al., 2021). Given the severe impacts of the psychosocial stressor on employees' job stress, the first hypothesis has been proposed as follows.
H1: Psychosocial stressor significantly affects employees'job stress.
Job stress and turnover intention
Stressful work environments that are hazardous or detrimental affect employees' physical and mental health and increase turnover and absenteeism. A remarkable agenda of linked research focuses on increased absenteeism due to diseases, accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Employee turnover intention is directly and indirectly correlated with job stress. Park et al. discovered that job stress was positively connected with a high turnover intention rate in the hospitality business (Park et al., 2020). However, few other findings showed a moderate correlation (Kerdpitak, Jermsittiparsert, 2020). Similarly, it was found evidence of a direct correlation between perceived stress and the intention to quit for nurses (Applebaum et al., 2010). An employee becomes frustrated by feeling unsatisfied with their work, which results in the urge to leave or finally leave the company. Workers decide to quit their jobs because they believe they can succeed elsewhere. The second hypothesis was developed as follows.
H2: Job stress significantly affects employees' turnover intention.
Psychosocial stressor and turnover intention
A person's psychological and social well-being can be affected by psychosocial factors at work, and the well-being of workers directly or indirectly influences individual and organizational performance (Lu et al., 2017). Employee turnover intention is one of the conferred variables among organizational performance variables. An association between workplace stressors and employees' withdrawal behaviour has been discovered in prior research (Corin et al., 2016). For instance, public sector managers in Sweden intend to leave the organization by being psychologically distressed by psychosocial stressors, as noted by Corin and colleagues (Corin et al., 2016). The impact of the psychosocial stressor on turnover intention is significant for nurses, where the prominent psychosocial factors are job demand and job insecurity (Mirzaei et al., 2021). The stressor and intention association has been revealed for academicians in Malaysia (Panatik et al., 2011), where job demand and job control impact highly to take turnover decisions. In manufacturing settings like readymade garment industries, the stressor and turnover intention association has been mostly revealed for job condition stressors. Thus, the third hypothesis was proposed as follows.
H3: Psychosocial stressor significantly affects employee turnover intention.
Psychosocial stressor, job stress and turnover intention
Stressful work conditions produce job stress, and induced stress impacts employees through behavioural responses of counterproductive work behaviour. According to the dual pathway model (Cox et al., 2000) of hazard harm relationship, workplace stressors affect individual and organisational performance directly and indirectly. The dual pathway risk harm model mentioned the mediation effects of occupational stress between psychosocial stresses and performance. In the case of the garment sector, labors work in an unfavourable psychosocial environment and suffer from a variety of physiological and psychological issues, which ultimately lead to high to moderate turnover intention or actual turnover (Liyanage et al., 2014).
For instance, stress mediates the relationship between difficult work and voluntary turnover for truck drivers (Croon de et al., 2004). Emotional exhaustion is a mediator between the effect of working conditions and the desire to quit one's job (Moore, 2000). Similarly, T. W. Taris and colleagues noted that hard work increases emotional tiredness and reveals turnover intent (Taris et al., 2001). As noted by S. Cohen and colleagues, emotional tiredness and exhaustion are factors of perceived job stress (Cohen, Kamarck, Mermelstein, 1983). In consideration of the above literature reviews, a fourth hypothesis was constructed as follows.
H4: Job stress mediates the relationship between psychosocial stressor and turnover intention.
The following conceptual model (Figure 1) was developed in the current investigation against the backdrop of the constructed hypothesis mentioned above.
Figure 1. Proposed conceptual framework
Materials and methods
Samples and research design
The current study applied the quantitative research method to investigate the association between occupational stress and intention to leave among individuals working in Bangladesh's apparel sector. The individual worker working in apparel industries is chosen as the unit of analysis (Dolma, 2010). Participants in this study are full-time garment industry workers engaged in different sections (e.g., sewing machine, assistant, cutting, finishing, and spot removal) from Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and its suburban areas. The employee turnover rate is affected by the organization's size (number of employees), its geographic location, and the implementation of policies inside the business (Hossain, Mahmood, 2018). As a result, eight apparel industries were chosen based on a variety of criteria, including company size, location, and compliance with regulations. Among these companies, four were large, three medium, and one small industry. Five organizations with compliance certificates and three without them were selected for interviewees to determine whether compliance regulation affects employees' intention to leave. The exclusion criteria were the workers' age of less than twenty years at the time of the interviews and less than two years of work experience in their respective organizations.
Measuring instruments
The questionnaire used for this investigation contained participants' socio-demographic information in section one, sections two to four were for the variable's measures, e.g., psychosocial stressors (independent variable), job stress (mediating variable) and turnover intention (dependent variable). The study framed the adapted questionnaire with a total of 28 items on a five-point Likert scale ranging from "1" (strongly agree) to "5" (strongly disagree). Table 1 represents variables, several items from the survey questionnaire, and questions modified for the research after the pilot survey.
Table 1. Variables
Variable Items Citation Keyword in SEM Citation for external validity
Psychosocial stressor 12 (Leka et al., 2003) PS (Kortum et al., 2011)
Job stress 10 (Parker, DeCotiis, 1983) JS (Yongkang et al., 2014)
Employee turnover intention 6 (Bothma, Roodt, 2013) TI (Yucel, 2021)
Data collection
Researchers chose the quantitative study to evaluate the associations between job stress and intention to leave among employees in eight apparel industries. From these eight organisations, 280 employees (35 from each) were chosen following the purposive sampling strategy to receive the structured questionnaire. Among those, 252 useable questionnaires were collected back (with a recovery rate of 90% and proceeded for further analysis. According to R. B. Kline, the minimum sample size for SEM is 200; hence a sample size of 252 fits the criterion (Kline, 2010). A printed copy of the survey question was handed out in person to collect data. Data collection lasted approximately three months, from August 2022 to October 2022. Participants were instructed to complete the survey without their employer or supervisor's presence to improve the data's anonymity and confidentiality. Additionally, they were advised not to include any personally identifiable information on the survey (such as their name or employment ID).
Data analysis
Descriptive statistics were calculated to observe the demographic characteristics of respondents with the aid of SPSS (version 21). The assumptions of structural equation modelling were tested with the recommendations of J. F. Hair (Hair et al., 2019). A collinearity test was conducted in SPSS by observing the VIF values. Internal consistency of data was analyzed by observing Cronbach Alpha, convergent validity was checked by Average Variance Extracted and composite reliability, discriminant validity was checked by Fornell — Larcker criterion and Heterotrait Monotrait ratio (Fornell, Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2019). The first analysis in AMOS refers calculation of standardized estimates and the significance level of indicators. To test the hypothesis and the conceptual model, variables with factor loadings lower than 0.7 were eliminated before running the structural model (Hair et al., 2019).
Results
Demographic profile
The sample of the study was formed by selecting 252 respondents who are working as labors in apparel industries of Bangladesh. The demographic characteristics of the participants of this research are shown in table 2.
Table 2. Participants' demographic profile
Characteristics Frequency Percentage Characteristics Frequency Percentage
Gender Job category
Male 65 26% Worker (fabric cutting) 20 8%
Female 187 74% Operator (sewing machine) 116 46%
Age Helper 59 23%
20 to 27 years old 54 21% Worker (spot removal) 35 14%
28 to 35 years old 97 39% Worker (finishing) 22 9%
36 to 43 years old 71 28% Work experience
44 to 51 years old 25 10% 2 to 5 years 170 67%
52 and more 5 2% 6 to 9 years 58 23%
Level of Education More than 9 years 24 10%
Class five passed 4 2% Marital status
Class eight passed 57 23% Married 131 52%
Secondary school certified 105 42% Unmarried 98 39%
Higher secondary certified 65 26% Others 23 9%
Above higher secondary 21 7%
Given the predominance of female workers in Bangladesh's apparel sector, 74% of respondents were female. 39% of the workforce is between the ages of 28 and 35. In terms of literacy, the majorities have a secondary school diploma (42%), specialize in operating sewing machines (46%), have 2 to 5 years of job experience (67%) and are married (52%).
Validity and reliability
The multicollinearity test was run in SPSS by determining variance inflation factor (VIF) values, and the VIF values range was within 1.36 and not exceeding the cut-off value of 5 (Hair et al., 2019), hence ensuring no collinearity. The cut-off value of reliability, Cronbach Alpha (a), as well as composite reliability (CR), is 0.7 (Hair et al., 2019). SPSS calculated Cronbach Alpha, whereas CR values were derived by taking the grand mean of squared loadings of indicators. In both indicators, the values obtained were greater than 0.7, verifying the internal consistency reliability in all the variables.
These values are represented in Table 3. In both indicators, the values were more significant than 0.7, representing the internal consistency of all the variables.
Convergent validity was tested; verifying that all construct items had positive and significant values, supporting the test. The values of AVE are greater than 0.5, ensuring the criterion of convergent validity (Hair et al., 2019). Discriminant validity was tested by the Fornell and Larcker criterion, which considers that the square root of the AVE of each construct should exceed the correlation values between constructs (Fornell, Larcker, 1981). These values are represented on the diagonal of Table 3, ensuring discriminant validity. Discriminant validity was also ensured by HTMT (heterotrait-monotrait ratio) where the values did not exceed the threshold value of 0.85, verifying that there is discriminant validity (Henseler et al., 2015).
Table 3. Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted and discriminant validity
Variable a CR AVE Psychosocial stressor Job stress Turnover intention
Psychosocial stressor .91 .85 .54 .73
Job stress .86 .86 .60 .57 .78
Turnover intention .83 .76 .51 .58 .77 .71
Structural equation modeling
The author chose the maximum likelihood parameter estimation for the third data analysis stage, known as structural equation modeling (SEM), and the data were normally distributed (Hair et al., 2019). The first analysis in AMOS identified a total of 28 factors under three latent variables. A total of 14 factors were eliminated because their factor loadings were less than 0.7, and 12 factors were included in the structural model because they met the 0.7 criteria for a well-defined structure (Hair et al., 2019). However, factor loading above 0.5 is also significant for analysis; hence, a few factors less than 0.7 but near 0.7 are included for analysis (Hair et al., 2019). Table 4 shows the construct, estimations, mean and standard deviation against loading factors.
Table 4. Confirmatory factor analysis
Items Factor loadings a Mean SD
Psychosocial stressor .91
PS3. I have low participation in decision making .753 3.72 1.36
PS4. I face difficulty due to verbal and physical abuse .751 3.81 1.27
PS6. My salary amount is not sufficient to survive .765 3.76 1.30
PS7. I have conflicting demand at work and home .693 3.65 1.38
PS12. I feel my job monotonous .709 3.49 1.34
Job stress .86
JS3. I feel tired and exhausted for job .858 3.99 1.29
JS4. I feel fear for job pressure as it is higher than it should be .843 3.98 1.32
JS9. I feel guilty for spending less time with family .710 3.72 1.21
JS10. I feel that I have less time for doing other necessary activities .675 3.66 1.36
Turnover intention .83
TI1. I intend to leave the organization .732 3.69 1.31
TI2. I feel frustrated at work to achieve personal work-related goals .727 3.61 1.34
TI4. I dream about getting another job that will better suit my personal .683 3.70 1.30
needs
The structural model was run in AMOS to assess the conceptual model and the hypothesis to be tested. The values of the indices are compared to cutoff values to confirm the SEM model's fit indices (Thakkar, 2020). The model fit indices values represented satisfactory results: CMIN/df 1.575 (< 3),
level of significance .004 (< .05), RMSEA 0.048 (< .08), GFI 0.945 (> 0.90), AGFI 0.916 (> 0.80), NFI 0.943 (> 0.90) and CFI 0.978 (> 0.90), Standardized RMR 0.049 (< .05). Figure shows the structural model, and the path diagram illustrates the direction and strength of the direct effect using the positive and negative signs of the path coefficient and the absolute value of the standardized coefficient.
Figure 2. Structural equation model
Path coefficient results of hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 are represented in table 5 and findings of mediation analysis are represented in Table 6.
Table 5. Summary of structural model
Hypothesis Relationship Standardized estimate (ß) Critical ratio (CR) p-value Decision
Hypothesis H1 PS > JS .57 7.522 .000 Supported
Hypothesis H2 JS > TI .64 7.053 .000 Supported
Hypothesis H3 PS > TI .21 2.643 .008 Supported
Note: Squared multiple correlation of JS = 32.5%; Squared multiple correlation of TI = 61.8%.
The coefficient of determination (R2) for the two endogenous variables, turnover intention and job stress, was found to be 32.5% and 61.8%, respectively, and greater than the threshold values of 10%, which were used to assess the model's quality (Hair et al., 2019).
Table 6. Findings from mediation analysis
Relationship
Direct effect Indirect effect
Confidence interval Upper bound Lower bound
Mediated
Psychosocial Stressor>Job Stress>Turnover Intention .21 (p = .008) .368 (p = .014) .496
.229
Yes
The impact of the psychosocial stressor on job stress is significant (P = 0.57, CR = 7.522, p = 0.00), and on employee turnover intention is also significant (P = 0.21, CR = 2.643, p = 0.008) fulfilling the criterion of accepting the hypothesis since the p-value is less than 0.05 and the critical ratio is greater than 1.96 according to Hair (Hair et al., 2019). In case of the Hypothesis 2, findings revealed that, job stress significantly affects employee turnover intention (P = 0.64, CR = 7.053, p = 0.000). Therefore, Hypothesis 1, 2 and 3 are supported in accordance with the findings of the study.
Table 6, representing the mediation analysis, suggests job stress mediates the relationship between the psychosocial stressors and turnover intention. The indirect (mediated) effect path
coefficient of psychosocial hazard on employee turnover intention is 0.368 (p = .014) significant with confidence interval values (upper bound = 0.496 and lower bound = 0.229). The significance of the indirect effect of psychosocial stressor on turnover intention ensured mediation between the variables (Hayes, 2017).
Discussion
This study proposed a hypothesis based on the needs-supplies paradigm of the PersonEnvironment fit (Edwards et al., 1998) to explain the discrepancy between workers' job expectations and the fulfilment of demand by respective organisations. Potential employees want to work for companies that leverage their particular skills and suit their specific needs. The core principle of the P-E fit theory is that neither the person nor the environment causes stress but rather the degree to which they are congruent or compatible (Edwards et al., 1998). Moreover, an employee's inability to deal with particular aspects of the workplace is more likely to lead to occupational stress. Current research findings indicate that psychosocial stressors are a mismatch between the individual and the organisation, resulting in workplace stress. Workers in the apparel sector are subjected to a psychosocial environment shaped by contradictory high job demands and low job fulfilment. The findings of this study are supported by the person-environment theory of stress, which asserts that stress exists when human attitude and environmental characteristics are mismatched. Positive correlation between the stressor and job stress, job stress and turnover intention, and stressor and turnover intention support the Person's job fit framework and the existence of job stress. In addition, better synchronisation between workers' attitudes toward their demand fulfilment and organisational commitment to inspiring workers can reduce the mismatch and help eliminate the intention to leave the firm.
Findings to analyse the impact of the psychosocial stressor on job stress revealed a moderate positive correlation between psychosocial stressors with job stress. The psychosocial stressor results from a combined psychological and social burden from home and the workplace. According to the measurement model, the stressor's high factor-loaded items are work-family conflict, low involvement in decision-making, abuse, unsatisfactory salary, and monotonous tasks. The combination of social and psychological demands causes employees to feel agitated and irritated, prompting them to make disruptive judgements. Consistent with the findings, there is a positive association between psychosocial stressors and workplace stress; two key stressors analysed on sewing machine operators in Sri Lankan clothing settings are work conditions and workload (Liyanage et al., 2014). Similarly, a survey of 117 university professors in Peru revealed that psychosocial elements positively impact occupational stress (Tacca Huaman. Tacca Huaman, 2019).
The possibility of an employee's intention to leave his or her current position is significantly influenced by job stress. Stress at work has a moderately positive correlation. Employees experiencing occupational stress would endure physical and emotional exhaustion, which could reduce their performance and productivity. This may become incapacitating due to despondency, other internal concerns, and physical or mental illness, prompting workers to quit their jobs. Following the findings of a study involving 172 workers in the information technology and communications industries, workplace stress leads to burnout and a desire to leave the workforce (Chandio et al., 2013). Job stress results from environmental and situational circumstances. The current findings reveal that most common symptoms of job stress in the garment industry include fatigue, job pressure, time pressure, and a sense of guilt for spending less time with family. Except for a one-hour lunch break, workers are sat at a single desk from dawn to dusk under time constraints that cause them to become exhausted. Moreover, the work-family conflict, female employees feel upset about spending less time
with their families. Since women make up the majority of the labour force in the apparel industry of Bangladesh, a significant correlation indicates that females are more likely to abandon their jobs when they experience stress.
Though the impact of the psychosocial stressor on turnover intention is insignificant in our study, some previous studies on hotel industry employees revealed high turnover intention with the increase of psychosocial stressors (Shi et al., 2021). For industrial workers (Nnadozie et al., 2015), university teachers (Jamshaid et al., 2021), 10457 emergency physicians in China (Jiang et al., 2022), and truck drivers (Croon de et al., 2004), there was a significant association between the psychosocial stressor and intention to leave the job. Despite enduring psychosocial pressures, even though employees in the current environment of garment workers experience psychosocial stressors, they do not feel like leaving the firm. Despite working under psychosocial stress, garment industry employees in Bangladesh are given poor wages and come from low-income families, thus they do not consider leaving their jobs in order to survive.
Limitations and future research direction
This study is a significant first step in expanding the body of knowledge about job stress and turnover intention among Bangladeshi apparel industry workers. This study demonstrates that the findings drawn from the data are substantially less differentiated than those of many earlier studies. The absence of differentiation may be explained by the circumstances in which the data were collected. For instance, study was focused only on apparel industries, and participants are from a particular class (e.g. manual labour). Previous study reveals that job stress and intention to leave vary by industry and environment. As a result, future research may employ more comprehensive data allowing reliable generalisation. This research is restricted to a particular geographical area. Model testing in several cultures may produce conflicting findings. In order to increase the global applicability of research results, a cross-cultural analysis may be an intriguing issue for future study. Though methodologically, 252 samples are competent for SEM analysis (Kline, 2010), the study conducted with more samples may draw broader generalizations. Further, future longitudinal studies can be proposed because employee attitudes and behaviours regarding job stress and turnover intention change over time (Falkenburg, Schyns, 2007). Besides this, future study could examine the effects of work condition stressors on individual and organizational performance.
Conclusion
The ramifications of this study are both theoretical and practical. The person-environment fit theory supports the theoretical implications of the needs-supplies-fit paradigm. When employees believe their demands are met as expected, they exhibit more positive emotions and become more productive on the job. Conversely, a negative perspective of the job results in demotivation and withdrawal symptoms. In practice, when apparel workers sense bad sentiments generated by psychosocial stresses, job stress is psychologically tempting, resulting in unproductive work conduct. The apparel industry in Bangladesh is the top export-earning sector because of low labour costs and the availability of abundant workers. However, this industrial sector still has scope to improve working conditions for workers because the availability of workers does not indicate the optimum production of the industries. Instead, a high turnover rate can problematize the perpetual succession of the business. Entrepreneurs can improve the work environment and take preventative actions to eliminate major stressors that demotivate and dissatisfy employees. Companies can manage employee turnover by minimizing and regulating the factors influencing the intention to
quit a position. Therefore, industry managers should lessen turnover intent by removing the most common psychological stresses and expanding the possibility for improved performance.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Institute of Advanced Research of United International University (Grant No. (lAR/01/19lBE/06), and the authors express gratitude to United International University for their administrative and funding support.
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Received 12.03.2023.
Влияние психосоциальных стрессоров на стремление к текучести кадров, опосредованное стрессом на рабочем месте
СУЛТАНА Мимнун
Объединённый международный университет, Дакка, Бангладеш Бангладешский профессиональный университет, Дакка, Бангладеш
ДЖОРДЕР Мохд Хасанур Райхан
Объединённый международный университет, Дакка, Бангладеш
ИСЛАМ Шафикул
Объединённый международный университет, Дакка, Бангладеш Оклендский университет>Окленд, Новая Зеландия
АЛАМ Джахангир
Исламский университет Джатия Каби Кази Назрул, Мименсингх, Бангладеш
Аннотация. Цель. Настоящее исследование направлено на определение связи между психосоциальным стрессором и намерением сменить работу у работников швейной промышленности в Бангладеш, а также изучить опосредующий эффект рабочего стресса на связь между психосоциальными стрессорами и намерением сменить работу в том же контексте. Методология. В целенаправленную выборку вошли 252 штатных сотрудников швейной промышленности из восьми различных секторов швейной промышленности (пошив, кройка, отделка, удаление пятен и так далее) на основе организационных различий в размере организации, её местоположении и соблюдении правил. В ходе исследования была составлена адаптированная анкета, состоящая из 28 пунктов с пятибалльной шкалой Ликерта в диапазоне от «1» (полностью согласен) до «5» (полностью не согласен). Моделирование структурными уравнениями и подтверждающий факторный анализ для проверки гипотез осуществлялись с помощью программного пакета AMOS. Выводы. Психосоциальные стрессоры вносят существенный вклад в стресс на рабочем месте (b = 0,57, t = 7,522, p < 0,001) и в намерение уволиться (b = 0,21, t = 2,64, p < 0,05). Вклад стресса на рабочем месте в намерение уволиться также оказался значительным (b = 0,64, t = 7,053 и p < 0,001). Результаты показывают, что связь между психосоциальными стрессорами и намерением уволиться была опосредована стрессом на рабочем месте. Последствия для практики. Менеджерам необходимо расставить приоритеты и принять необходимые меры для снижения стресса на работе путём устранения психосоциальных стрессоров, чтобы свести к минимуму влияние психосоциальных стрессоров на намерение работников уволиться.
Ключевые слова: психосоциальный стрессор, стресс на работе, текучесть кадров, работники швейной промышленности.
