Organizational-Based Self-Esteem and Intention to Quit

Does Work-Family Conflict Experience Matter in Southeastern Nigeria?

Abstract

Employee intention to quit remains a major concern for employee assistance professionals. There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the moderating effect of work–family conflict (WFC) on the relationship between organizational-based self-esteem (OBSE) and intention to quit (IQ) among employees in the financial service sector. A sample of 516 employees, comprising 123 males (23.84%) and 393 females (76.15%) was randomly selected for the study. Validated measures of IQ, WFC, and OBSE were utilized. Results showed that OBSE (r = −.09, p < .05) and WFC (r = −.14, p < .01) significantly correlated with IQ. Moderated regression analysis revealed that the interaction between OBSE and WFC was strongly and inversely related to employees’ IQ (B = −0.77, p < .001). This interaction model accounted for an additional 8% variance in IQ (ΔR² = 0.08), which was statistically significant, F(1, 508) = 44.88, p < .001, indicating that WFC significantly moderated the effect of OBSE on IQ. Overall, the findings suggest that employees’ confidence in their organization reduces their intention to quit only under conditions of low WFC. However, when WFC is high, the likelihood of quitting increases regardless of employees’ valuation of their organization. Based on resource depletion theory, hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 were supported. The implications highlight the importance of understanding how WFC shapes the OBSE–IQ relationship in designing contextually relevant, non-Western work–life balance policies, particularly within the Nigerian context.