Effects of Job Stress, Attitude, and External Market on Employees' Turnover

Human resource is an important factor of production in any organization. Human-power determines the success or failure of an organization. Human resource combines, manipulates, and controls all the other factors of production within an organization to offer the best services to clients. However, when employees leave an organization through dismissals or resignations, it affects the levels of production within the company and the firm's competitiveness in the market. Employee turnover is the rate at which workers enter and leave an organization. Other scholars such as Cascio (2018) have defined employee turnover as the characteristics of a firm to the rate at which an employer loses staff. Just as people move from one place to the other, employees often move from one job to the other when looking for better opportunities in the job market. Several factors push employees to look for better opportunities (Sewwandi et al., 2017). Some of these factors, as this paper, seeks to look at include stress, external market, and employees' attitude. Working towards ensuring that employees are motivated and well-compensated, the management of any firm may reduce the chances of its employees leaving for other companies in the specific industry.

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The corporate and business world is experiencing a growth in competition, downsizing, layoffs, and technological changes. These growths and changes within organizations are often the major stressors among employees (Sewwandi et al., 2017). As such, job stress has been an issue which many scholars are currently studying. According to their study, Sewwandi et al. (2017) have identified stressors to be negatively affecting the physical health and mental well-being of individuals. They further define job stress as a result of an imbalance between the requirements of a job and the ability of employees to cope (Sewwandi et al., 2017). Liyanage et al. (2008), as cited by Sewwandi et al. (2017, p. 1), define job stress as the condition which arises when an employee feels the demands of a job exceeds both the social and personal resources they are able to mobilize.

In every organization, whether small or big, stress exists and expresses itself in different ways (Opatha, 2010). It also affects employees in different ways. Because of job stress, the organization may experience several negative issues such as lower organization commitment and turnover intention and lower performance and job satisfaction (Opatha, 2010). However, job stress does not affect badly for individuals (Opatha, 2010).

In their study, Trivellas et al. (2013) establish there is a positive relationship between job stress and employee turnover. Their study seeks to investigate the impact of job stress on job satisfaction, controlling for age, gender, level of education, work experience, size of the department, and the position an employee holds within the firm. Trivellas et al. (2013) report that job stresses related to heavy workload and conflict proved to be highly and negatively associated with job satisfaction and the willingness of employees to retain their jobs. They indicate that their findings are the same as those by earlier scholars; for instance, a study in Korea confirmed this relationship between the amount of workload and the satisfaction of a nurse's work (Trivellas et al., 2013).

Moreover, there are also studies which have identified that workload as a major factor of job stress. It is with no doubt, looking at these studies that managements stress employees to carry out multiple tasks, perform beyond their ability, and improve their performance (Trivellas et al., 2013; Masood, 2013). Trivellas et al. (2013) indicate that heavy workload leads to high levels of stress among employees and this leads to the reduction in the quality of services they provide. The article also points out that employees will often fail to meet the needs of clients when under pressure or stress as a result of the management's high expectations.

Under this research, the management of a firm has the ability of understanding that most of their employees may be under job stress. Because of this, it is crucial for the administration to moderate the levels of job stress among workers (Masood, 2013). There are several recommendations for this. For instance, the management should appoint more employees to moderate the levels of job stress among workers. It is also essential that workers are assigned work that they can adequately perform without any form of pressure from their seniors. It is also essential for the management of firms to increase the pay for their workers. Equity is an important factor to consider when determining the amount of salary each employee should receive in an organization because compensation is a crucial determinant of employees' turnover intention.

Another factor that profoundly determines the willingness of an employee to commit to an organization or present job is their attitude. According to Pepra-Mensah et al. (2015), work attitudes are the emotional characteristics which employees have to bear during their daily activities at their workplaces. Some of the good predictors of turnover rates, according to Pepra-Mensah et al. (2015) include organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and motivation. When combined, these three factors have the ability to ensure employees retain their current jobs and also reduce the risks of job-hopping among workers.

Motivation is one of the critical factors for attracting and retaining workers in an organization (Pepra-Mensah et al., 2015). In their article, Pepra-Mensah et al. (2015) define motivation as the psychological process that issues behavior purpose and direction, and the will to achieve a certain goal. Motivation entails the notion of exchange that is in the work and to which employees will identify themselves with their personal and organizational goals. In their study, Shahzadi et al. (2014) found that motivation plays an important role in determining whether an employee will stay at an organization or leave.

The factors which motivate people to stay in a certain organization positively contribute to the elimination of the thoughts which push them towards quitting. According to O'Fallon et al. (2010), motivation is a success factor for organizations as it forces workers to look for better ways of performing tasks. Because of this, it is essential for organizations to determine the different ways of keeping their employees motivated. For instance, a simple acknowledgment note for a work well-done by a worker from the management can be a good motivator. In his article, Clarke (2001) points out that a "pat on the back" or a word of praise, after delivering good service, helps build the morale of employees.

There are three organizational variables which affect the kind of motivation employees receive. The relationships between these variables, hence, determine the degree of motivation that employees experience. These variables include (a) the individuals' characteristics such as needs, interests, values, and attitudes that they bring to the company; (b) the job characteristics and the amount of work given to the employee; (c), the working environment. Looking at these factors, it becomes clear that an individual has specific personal needs, interests, and values before they join a firm. As such, when the management integrates these characteristics and the working environment, the employees will experience high motivation levels and will stay in the organization. However, the opposite of this will arise if the characteristics of an employee do not match those of the firm and its work environment. The end result of this situation will be the worker leaving their job (Opatha, 2010).

Job satisfaction is another factor, under attitudes, that determines the willingness of employees to stay in their current jobs. Both at the national and international levels, job satisfaction has been extensively studied over the last few years. Related surveys and studies have been conducted in the manufacturing, public, and private sectors. As such, it is safe to state that job satisfaction is important in enhancing a firm's productivity. According to previous studies, as stated by Pepra-Mensah et al. (2015), job satisfaction is an important element in influencing the productivity of a company. This is because high levels of job satisfaction will help produce positive attitudes towards work among employees. In turn, this will reduce the levels of absenteeism, service termination, work negligence, and increase efforts towards achieving work excellence (Pepra-Mensah et al., 2015).

High levels of job satisfaction have huge impacts on both the mental and health aspects of employees. From the findings of their study, Pepra-Mensah et al. (2015) stated that employees who have low job satisfaction levels are highly likely to quit their jobs. They supported their statement using McShane's (1984) study which highlighted employees with low job satisfaction levels are most likely to be absent from their jobs more often (Pepra-Mensah et al., 2015, p. 117). Also, in a study by Shaw (1999), it was determined that there is a high inclination for an individual to quit their job if they are not satisfied by it. Because of these statements, it is evident that job satisfaction is a critical antecedent for one to leave their job. Basing their study of 300 physicists in England, a study by Williams et al. (2010) found that job dissatisfaction is the primary reason for job turnover among physicists in the country. An individual with high levels of job satisfaction, hence, holds positive attitudes towards their job. On the other hand, a person who experiences low job satisfaction levels holds negative attitudes towards their work and is more likely to quit their jobs.

Organizational commitment is the other factor that influences the attitude of workers to stay in or leave their current job (Opatha, 2010). There are several definitions which exist to describe the phrase "organizational commitment." However, according to Obadara (2008), organizational commitment is the attitude which can influence an employee's reaction towards their job. It is the psychological attachment which an employee has with their work or organization. There are three different types of organizational commitment, and they include affective, continuance, and normative commitment. Affective commitment is one which exists when an individual has a positive emotional attachment to their firm. Continuance commitment is one which an individual continues working for their employers because they consider the end results of losing the job more tragic than keeping it. On the other hand, normative commitment is one where an individual keeps working for an organization because they feel they are obligated to do so.

Organizational commitment is divided into three categories. These are(a) belief and the acceptance of a firm's goals and values; (b) willingness to strive a little harder to develop an organization in which the employee is part of; (c) and the willingness to continue working in the organization and being a part of it. Various studies such as Aryee's (1991) have shown that there exists a negative relationship between organizational commitment and employee turnover. As such, it is important for the management of an organization to motivate their employees and have them committed to the organization to reduce their chances of quitting their jobs (Opatha, 2010).

Conclusion

In conclusion, retaining employees should be one of the primary goals of any organization. Employees often leave their current jobs to look for better positions, compensation, and personal growth at better workp...