The Effects of Social Support and Distributive Justice Towards Withdrawal Cognitions through Emotional Exhaustion: Empirical Study of Female Garment Workers in Indonesia

Abstract:

High competition in the garment industry has resulted in increasing production demand for developing countries such as Indonesia, which can provide workers with low wages and flexible regulations, to reduce production costs. Indonesian garment workers, dominated by women workers, often face injustice in terms of promotion and task assignment, and lack of social support. These problems can be associated to emotional exhaustion and organizational withdrawal cognitions. This study aims to determine the effect of social support and distributive justice on withdrawal cognitions with emotional exhaustion as a mediation, by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The research data was obtained through interviewing 491 female workers in Indonesian garment factories. The results showed that social support and distributive justice have an indirect effect on withdrawal cognitions through emotional exhaustion, but social support doesn’t have a direct effect on withdrawal cognitions. These results are discussed further in this study.