Psychosocial Work Condition and Work Attitudes: Testing of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Model in Malaysia

The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the ERI scale, such as reward, over commitment, and effort on job satisfaction and turnover intention. A self-reported survey was conducted among academicians in three research universities in Malaysia: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. A total of 267 academicians completed the questionnaire, producing a return rate of 20% from the entire population. ERI was measured by 23-item of the Effort-reward Imbalance questionnaire. Job satisfaction was measured by Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire version 2003 and turnover intention by Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire. Correlation and multiple regressions were performed using PAWS 18 in order to analyze the data. The results showed that a perceived ERI at work is a significant predictor of both job satisfaction and turnover intention among academicians. Specifically, rewards scale is the strongest predictor of both job satisfaction and turnover intentions. However, effort scale did not predict academicians’ job satisfaction and turnover intention. Overcommitment scale only related to job satisfaction, but not to turnover intention. This study concludes with some direction aimed at boosting the levels of job satisfaction and reducing turnover intention among academicians. Recommendation for future research is also discussed in this study.