HOW PAY TRANSPARENCY AND LIVING WAGE DEMANDS IMPACT EMPLOYEE RETENTION: OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AS MEDIATOR AND LEADER’S EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS MODERATOR IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES OF HYDERABAD

Abstract

With the increasing inflation, low salary packages and lack of pay transparency, the retention of employees has turned out to be one of the challenges faced by private universities in Pakistan. The effect of pay transparency and living wage demands on the intentions of faculty members to remain in private universities of Hyderabad, Pakistan is investigated in this study. The mediating effect of occupational stress and the moderating effect of leader emotional intelligence are also explored in the study. The study is grounded on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the Social Exchange theory (SET) about the impact of compensation and supportive leadership on employee commitment and low level of stress. A quantitative and explanatory research design was used. The data was gathered from 127 full time faculty members with the help of a structured questionnaire by the 5-point Likert scale. The data analysis used descriptive analysis, reliability test and hypothesis testing, which were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS-SEM. The results show that the relationships between pay transparency and living wages with employee retention intentions are positive, and are mediated by occupational stress. When leader emotional intelligence is used, the adverse effects of stress on retention are minimized because the work environment becomes conducive. The study offers practical implications to the University administrators for the enhancement of compensation policy, minimizing stress levels among faculty members, and enhancing retention policy in the Private Sector universities of Pakistan.