FACTORS AFFECTING LABOR TURNOVER INTENTION IN THE POULTRY SECTOR: A CASE OF GAMPAHA DISTRICT

Abstract

The poultry industry in Sri Lanka is highly labor-intensive, requiring a continuous supply of labor throughout the entire process, from broiler breeding to processing. One of the biggest challenges faced by the poultry sector in Sri Lanka is labor turnover. High labor turnover disturbs, operations and adversely affects overall productivity. Therefore, identification of the driving factors behind labor turnover within the poultry industry is crucial for making informed human development decisions. This study attempted to investigate personnel, organizational and external environmental factors affecting turnover intentions among workers in the poultry sector. Data were collected from poultry workers within the Dompe Divisional Secretariat division area in the Gampaha district, through face-to-face interviews using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and Binary Logistic Regression were employed to analyze the data. The socio-economic profile of the respondents indicated that 52.9% of employees were male; 64.3% were married and 50% had completed secondary education. Regression results reveal that young male workers were more intend to leave the poultry sector (p<0.05) but experienced workers are likely to stay on the job (p<0.05). Existing monetary rewards and other intensives motivate employees to stay (p<0.05). However, the human resource management practices including the nature of the work had a negative impact on labor turnover (p<0.05). Alarmingly better job opportunities elsewhere heightened employees’ intentions to leave the poultry industry (p<0.05). The study concludes that labor turnover detriments belong to the internal environment of the industry and should be solved because opportunities arising from the external environment threaten the poultry industry to retain their labor.