IMPACT OF WORKPLACE HARASSMENT ON EMPLOYEE TURNOVER INTENTION WITH MEDIATION EFFECT ON MENTAL STRESS; A STUDY OF PRODUCTION LEVEL EMPLOYEES IN ABC COMPANY IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between workplace harassment and employee turnover intention with mental stress as a moderate variable. In quantitative cross-sectional study, the current study investigates how different types of workplace harassment that include verbal abuse, bullying, sexual and racial harassment and discrimination affect employees’ turnover intention. Quantitative data gathered from 107 respondents in the production-line of a bakery firm in Sri Lanka were subjected to descriptive analysis, correlation, regression, and mediation tests. The research evidence shows that workplace harassment influences mental stress and turnover intention, with mental stress serving as a moderation factor. The study emphasizes the need for intervention programs that focus on minimizing workplace harassment and fostering a healthy organizational climate to increase employee retention and promote positive health. The research provides insightful findings, yet it contains specific limitations in its analysis. The study examines only one firm within a specific industry sector which restricts how well its results transfer between different industrial settings. The study utilizes a cross-sectional design as its approach thus it prevents researchers from creating connections between variables across different time periods. Research needs to conduct long-term investigations through time-spanning studies to better grasp harassment effects on employees in their workplace environment. Enhancing the study by including workers from different industries along with diverse groups of employees would increase their overall reliability. A thorough investigation of workplace harassment requires exploring extra moderating factors and mediating variables that include organizational culture and leadership styles alongside employee coping methods to understand better these effects on outcomes.