Determinants of Turnover Intention of Sewing Machine Operators: Case from leading Apparel Company

This paper mainly explores the determinants of turnover intention of the sewing machine operators (SMOs) in apparel industry. The paper aims to identify the impact of SMOs’ turnover intention on job satisfaction & organizational commitment and coping strategies for retention of SMOs. The study used survey method where data were collected through self-administered structured questionnaire from sample of 200 SMOs employed in a leading garment factory in Sri Lanka. Factors analysis extracted two components of determinants of the turnover intention: controllable and uncontrollable factors. Results revealed that the residency, civil status, recognition, work load, social image, job alternatives and work life balance is the significant predictors of the SMOs’ turnover intention. Turnover intention is significantly and negatively correlated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Sample t-test found a significant difference between the civil status and residency with the turnover intention. Increasing the salary levels, introduce skilled based incentive schemes, providing more facilities and treating employees in a friendly manner are the most effective retention strategies.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/kjm.v1i2.6535

Kelaniya Journal of Management Vol.1(2) 2012:107-123