Nexus between Work Stress and Employee Turnover Intention: Study of Non-Managerial Female Employees in Apparel Industry of Sri Lanka

Current study examines the nexus between work stress and turnover intention of non-managerial female employees in apparel industry, Sri Lanka to bridge the lacuna in up-to-date body of knowledge with more precise empirical evidence from the context. Five companies representing the whole industry, were selected from Katunayake Free Trade Zone, Sri Lanka from which the primary data were collected via a questionnaire survey. A standard questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 320 non-managerial female employees. Random sampling technique was used to select a representative sample. Correlation, independent sample t-test and One-way ANOVA were applied to analyse the collected data and to test the advanced hypotheses. In the analysis demographic differences do not come out as significant in predicting for turnover intention, except the education level and level of work experience. However, it is found that, non-managerial females in the apparel industry experiencing higher job demands and negative work relationships are more likely to leave. Further, a greater extent of work control, clarity of job role, management support & colleagues support will increase the chances of employees staying. Thus, non-managerial females who are open to higher work stress are at a higher risk of leaving than other employees. Findings revealed that less experienced and less educated employees are more likely to leave than other females. Moreover, practical and theoretical implications are emphasized in the present study.