Conflict and Employee Engagement

Conclusions

This study examines the effect of work-family conflict on turnover intention, both directly and indirectly, through job engagement and emotional exhaustion felt by female employees of PT Free port Indonesia. Work-family conflict is the biggest and positive predictor of emotional exhaustion felt by female employees, in addition to being a relatively small predictor of turnover intention. Research findings show that work-family conflict has an important effect on increasing turnover intention and emotional exhaustion, but it does not reduce job engagement. Moreover, job engagement cannot reduce turnover intention, while emotional exhaustion actually has a role to increase job engagement and also turnover intention. One important finding from this study is that emotional exhaustion actually increases job engagement. The results of mediation test show that job engagement cannot provide an important mediating role, both on the effect of work-family conflict on turnover intention, and on the effects of emotional exhaustion on turnover intention. On the contrary, emotional exhaustion can partially provide an important mediating role on the effect of work-family conflict on turnover intention. 

The research findings show a very important relationship between work-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intention for female employees. Practically, this suggests the company takes care of educated and skilled employees better; therefore, the employees can support the sustainability of the company. After finding the causes of the turnover intention of highly educated-employees (diplomas and graduates), companies can take steps, effective action, and develop specific HRM policies. Considering the dynamic yet strict work environment, which requires effective and efficient coordination between divisions, the company needs to accommodate the needs of female employees who strive to balance their work and family life. 

This study contributes to a deeper understanding of work-family conflict, job engagement, emotional exhaustion and behavioral tendencies (in the form turnover intentions) of female employees in a company. This study generates a final model framework based on the analysis results by revealing the development of a conceptual model that has been tested, with the emphasis that there are inconsistencies in the results of the direct influence of emotional exhaustion on job engagement, as well as job engagement on turnover intention.

Recommendations

For a company, the key to looking after employees is not changing the characteristics of the organization or company, but rather the efforts to develop a good organizational climate where each employee can support each other and form a harmonious environment. Flexible working hours can reduce the potential impact of work-family conflicts, thereby supporting the company's efforts to maintain employee retention. This is considered effective for companies to help women employees meet their responsibility at work as well as family more effectively. 

Future research is expected to test the model on the characteristics of different or more diverse samples so that it can compare the pressure, fatigue, and attachment between male and female employees who are already married as predictors of turnover tendency. The diversity of turnover intention determinants that is still moderate indicates that there are other factors or variables that are not used in the research model. Therefore, further research is expected to examine and test other factors not found in this research model, such as commitment, satisfaction, and forms of attitude mechanism at other companies.