Abstract:
Purpose - This paper examines the moderating effect of ethical work climate on work engagement and turnover intention relationship of academic staff working in private higher educational institutions (PHEI) in Malaysia. Work environment influences employees’ turnover intention. There are few studies on work engagement, ethical work climate and turnover intention of academic staff, especially in a collective society like Malaysia. Literature Review - In this paper we focus on the positivist paradigm of employee wellness. We review literatures related to work engagement and ethical work climate and integrates the Job Demands-Resources model as underlying theory. We also put forward the background and rationale of the study, research objectives, as well as hypotheses. Research Design – A purposive sampling design was employed and self-report questionnaire was used to collect data from 152 academic staff working in PHEI in Malaysia. SPSS version 20 and Smart PLS version 3 were used to analyze the data. Findings – The results revealed that of the three dimensions of work engagement, only vigour influences turnover intention of employees, while ethical work climate has a medium effect on the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention. Contributions - This study examines the effect of a moderator variable on the nature of the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention. This study will improve conceptual definitions of the original constructs through the identification and conceptual definition of additional constructs to the framework. It will help in the development of additional theoretical linkages with their accompanying rationale.
