Employee Intention to Leave a Job: A Case of Fast Food Restaurants in Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing intention to leave among employees at fast food restaurants. It examines two issues; workplace stress and organizational commitment. A quantitative survey of 132 employees working in the fast food restaurants from three different states was conducted. The reliability statistics of the data was preferable, ranging from .71 to .91 for all variables. Using Pearson correlation analysis, it was found that there was a positive relationship between workplace stress and intention to leave (r=.265). Interestingly, the statistic showed that there was a positive relationship between organizational commitment and intention to leave (r=.294). The results contributed to a contradicting finding in investigating intention to leave among employees, indicating although the commitment was high, the potential to leave the job is considerately high. It might relate to the nature of job of fast food outlets that requires work shift, and the employees might seek towards “nine-to-five” jobs. Retaining employees could be challenging and managers should play an important role to deliver the information about career enhancement in fast food industry with improved levels of salary and employment.