Work Overload, Job Dependency, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Turnover Intention: Insights from Egyptian Employees

Purpose: The study seeks to examine the work overload - turnover intention (TI) relationship among Egyptian employees in public and private sectors. Additionally, it aims to explore the moderating effects of uncertainty avoidance and job dependency (JD) on this relationship.Study design/methodology/approach: An online survey was carried out to evaluate the hypotheses.Sample and data: A total of 539 responses using a convenience sample from Egyptian employees working in both public and private sectors were collected through mass emails sent to various employee groups. The collected data were analyzed via Amos software.Results: The findings demonstrated a significant positive correlation between work overload and turnover intention. In addition to the significant moderation effect of uncertainty avoidance and job dependency in work overload-turnover intention relationship. Lastly, the results highlight a distinction between the public and private sectors regarding the moderating effect of uncertainty avoidance, while no significant difference was found in the moderating role of job dependency.Originality/value: Findings of this study serve as pivotal yardstick for guiding organization’s policy and/or practices, offering valuable insights to discourage turnover intention levels. The present research extends the discourse on the role of job dependency and uncertainty avoidance in fostering turnover intention. Positioned as one of the initial studies to delve into the moderating role of job dependency and uncertainty avoidance in the relationship between work overload and turnover intention and compare the results between public and private sectors.Research limitations/implications: This study offers a more comprehensive understanding of work overload, uncertainty avoidance, job dependency, and turnover intention.