An investigation into the moderating role of psychological safety on the relationship between job demands and job resources and intention to quit

Background Employee turnover has been a major concern for organisations as far as a global competitive advantage is concerned. Amongst the proximal antecedents of turnover, intention to quit has been determined to exhibit the feelings and perceptions of employees concerning alternatives for the possibility of quitting the current employment relationship. Globally, an increasing portion of employees experiences some form of work overload, emotional and technological demands at the workplace, consequential in the feelings of being vulnerable and insecure. The current study, therefore, investigated the moderating role of pf psychological safety in the relationship between job demands, job resources, and intention to quit. The rationale for the research study Knowledge as to whether job demand and job resources have implications for employee retention will make it possible for practitioners to devise strategies to ensure that employees' level of intention to quit is reduced. For instance, to ensure that job demands are managed to prevent emotional and physical drain and consequently intention to quit. To ensure that employees are offered access in terms of resources to improve their motivation, and thereby reduce the intention to quit. Moreover, knowledge and consideration of the moderating effect of psychological safety on the relationship between job demands and job resources will allow managers to enhance retention strategies and thus provide assurance for higher organisational productivity. Aim of the study The current research study was an exploratory attempt to investigate the moderating effect of psychological safety on the relationship between job demands, job resources, and intention to quit. Whereas the existing literature on conservation resources theory provides valuable frameworks for understanding intention to quit, few researchers have investigated how the intention to quit may be influenced by job demands and job resources, through the mediating effect of psychological safety. Research Design, Sampling, and realised sample The cross-sectional study was used in the current research study as a quantitative approach through descriptive statistics to measure the relationship between intention to quit, job demands, and resources, and this associated being moderated by psychological safety. In other words, by applying descriptive statistics, the cross-section design was used in the current study to enable a detailed analysis of the variables in a systematic and standardised manner (ZangirolamiRaimundo, Echeimberg, & Leone, 2018). This research implemented a structured questionnaire method to get primary data. In other words, the respondents were asked to respond to similar questions in a prearranged manner (Doyle, 2009). A realised sample of n= 114 from the central banking environment was obtained using a convenience sampling approach. Statistical analyses To statistically analyse data, the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) programme was used. Exploratory Factor Analysis discovered common factors among the items; factor analysis was used to identify common variances. Through direct extraction and rotation methods to improve the interpretation of the factor loadings to reduce ambiguities in the initial analysis. The reliability and validity of the intention to quit, job demands-resources, and psychological safety were assessed through coefficient alpha and factor analysis. In other words, in evaluating the results, the test of reliability data was conducted to determine the Cronbach alpha, which would be acceptable when found to be at a minimum of 0.7 (Taber, 2018). Descriptive and correlational designs were used to provide analysis of data. First to classify and summarise data, and secondly to determine and test for the relationship between intention to quit, job demands-resources and psychological safety as variables of this study Results In investigating the association between job demands (work overload and technological demands) and intention to quit, correlation analysis results indicated a weak and negative relationship between technological demand and intention to quit. to determine whether job resources (job autonomy and performance feedback) would be able to predict the intention to quit, the multiple regression model was performed. Although a weak and negative correlation between job resources and intention to quit existed, there was no sufficient evidence that job resources could be a good predictor of intention to quit since the regression model highlighted an insignificant value of 0.411 which is greater than 0.05. The multiple regression highlighted that when psychological safety was introduced, it was found that combined psychological safety and job demand were good predictors of intention to quit and it was significant at 0.05 since the significance level of the model was 0.03. The multiple regression highlighted that when psychological safety was introduced, it was found that combined psychological safety and job demand were good predictors of intention to quit and it was significant at 0.05 since the significance level of the model was 0.02. Findings The findings from the results supported various discussions and studies in the literature and practice, that psychological safety moderates the relationship between job demands, job resources, and intention to quit. Further evidence was also found in support of the conservation of resources theory. Managerial Implications The results of the present research study embrace a practical implication for organisations in that the findings support the literature suggesting that psychological safety moderates the relationship between job demands, job resources, and intention to quit. The findings further contribute to a growing body of knowledge surrounding intention to quit, job demands, job resources, and psychological safety fields of research