Li, Y; Soomro, M A; Khan, A N; Han, Y and Xue, R (2022) Impact of ethical leadership on employee turnover intentions in the construction industry. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 148(7): 04022054, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Construction projects are cost-intensive, complex, and challenging ventures that often place employees in a harsh work environment filled with safety hazards. Employees facing such rigid characteristics must also adhere to strict time schedules to complete construction tasks; as a result, construction employees experience high stress that can deplete their psychological resources. Consequently, construction employees develop intentions to quit the organization, commonly known as turnover intentions. This study evaluates the role of ethical leadership in reducing employee turnover intentions in the construction industry. In this study, work exhaustion and psychological contract breach are considered prime antecedents of employee turnover in the construction industry. We collected data from satellite town development projects in Pakistan and performed regression path analysis to assess hypothesized relationships between construction employee turnover intention and its antecedents. The moderating effects of ethical leadership in reducing the impacts of work exhaustion and psychological contract breach were studied. Results revealed that work exhaustion and perceived psychological contract breach positively correlate with construction employee turnover intention; however, ethical leadership significantly reduced the impacts of work exhaustion and psychological contract breach on employee turnover intention. The findings and practical implications of this study can be used to help construction managers act ethically in their managerial duties to retain employees and continue to motivate employees to complete project tasks.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | ethical leadership; turnover intentions |
| Index terms: | construction employee, path analysis, employee turnover, construction industry, work environment, psychological contract, turnover, duty, satellite, construction manager, Pakistan, construction project |
| Subjects: | Geography, production management, management, industry analysis, statistical analysis, networking, practitioner, contractual role, profession, business management, psychology |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Contract Administration, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here