THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON EMPLOYEE TURNOVER INTENTION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

High turnover ratio is a major issue for the manufacturing sector of Pakistan, which causes low productivity and financial losses. Although financial benefits are considered an important factor to retain employee but, in recent studies it has been proven that administrative and psychological factors can play a vital role in reducing turnover issues. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of leadership and emotional intelligence (EI) on Employee Turnover Intention (ETI), direct and indirect, through the mediation of Employee Engagement (EE). The research design is quantitative using a deductive approach. Data was collected from 387 employees working in different manufacturing organizations of Pakistan through a survey method by distributing a questionnaire to respondents. The data analysis was done with the help of MS Excel and SPSS which include, Cronbach’s alpha, mean, SD, regression, correlation, and bootstrap mediation analysis. The results show that leadership and EI have a positive impact on EE and have a negative impact on ETI. Furthermore, the mediation analysis proves that EE completely shifts the impact of leadership and EI on ETI. The results prove the social exchange theory and indicate that good leadership and an emotionally intelligent work environment can improve employee retention. This study will help HR professionals and manufacturing industry owners to make EE oriented strategies and improve leadership and EI to retain their top talent, and maximize productivity.