Psychosocial Risk and Turnover Intention: The Moderating Effect of Psychological Wellbeing

Abstract

Nature and conditions of work has necessitated research in the area of psychosocial risk, as employees spend more time on their work and workplace than ever. As an emerging concept, research indicates that psychosocial risk resulting from work demand and stress has effect on organisational outcomes. However, most research on psychosocial risk is centered on the mining sectors ignoring other sectors like the manufacturing sector where psychosocial risk factors seem to be threatening the safety and wellbeing of workers. This present study seeks to examine the moderating role of psychological wellbeing in the relationship between psychosocial risks and turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from participants within selected manufacturing companies in Ghana. Multi-staged sampling technique was used to select 351 respondents for the study. Hierarchical correlation coefficient was used to test hypotheses and mediation. The study found that psychosocial risk is statistically significant in predicting turnover intention. Psychological wellbeing is also found to moderate the relationship between psychosocial risk and turnover intention, an indication that high levels of psychological wellbeing experienced from the work as a result of lower psychosocial risk will reduce turnover intent at the workplace. Therefore, within the Ghanaian manufacturing sector, workers perceive psychosocial risk as major contributor to turnover intention.