I Want to Quit! Exploring Determinants of Turnover Intention among Employees of Microfinance Institutions

Abstract

Employee turnover is a crucial Human Resource (HR) challenge faced by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), which are labour-intensive businesses providing financial services to the poor and underprivileged section of society. Despite the extreme attrition rate, there is limited empirical research on factors inducing turnover intention among microfinance employees. Hence, this study aims to explore employee turnover intention in MFIs and identify its critical determinants from the Indian perspective. A self-report questionnaire administered to employees working in five MFIs in Ranga Reddy district, Telangana, India, yielded 159 responses. The results showed that 46.5 per cent of the respondents often thought about quitting their job, indicating severe job dissatisfaction and withdrawal predisposition. The logistic regression established that a mix of individual (psychological capital), job-related (person-job fit, work pressure, emotional labour), and organisation-related factors (pay, rewards and promotion, supervisor support, organisational support) influenced respondents’ turnover intention in MFIs. Based on the results, this study made suggestions for how MFIs could improve their HR management practices and cut down on employee turnover.