Building Retention: How Occupational Safety, Job Stress, and Fatigue Shape Turnover Intention in the Indonesian Construction Industry
Main Article Content
Abstract
Employee retention remains a critical issue in the Indonesian construction industry, where a high intention to leave can interrupt project continuity, increase operational costs, and weaken organisational performance. Although occupational health and safety (OHS), job stress, and work fatigue have each been associated with turnover intention, empirical studies examining their simultaneous effects within the Indonesian construction context are still limited. This study aims to analyse the influence of these three workplace factors on turnover intention among construction workers. A quantitative explanatory approach was employed using survey data collected from 150 construction workers involved in projects across Indonesia. The proposed relationships were evaluated through PLS-SEM. The findings reveal that occupational health and safety significantly reduces turnover intention, whereas job stress significantly increases employees' intention to leave their organisations. In contrast, work fatigue is not significant for turnover intention. Together, the three independent variables account for 35.8% of the variance in turnover intention, indicating a moderate level of explanatory capability. The study highlights the importance of strengthening workplace safety practices and implementing effective stress management initiatives to improve employee retention in construction organisations. These findings contribute to the study on workforce retention in the Indonesian construction sector while offering practical guidance for organisations seeking to establish safer, healthier, and more sustainable working environments.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Adi, B. H., & Sary, F. P. (2025). The Effect of Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment on Turnover Intention of Gen Z Employees in Startup Companies. Enrichment: Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(3), 422–436. https://doi.org/10.55324/enrichment.v3i3.388
Ardhianti, U., & Sary, F. P. (2024). COVID-19 HEALTHCARE WORKER BURNOUT: WORK ENVIRONMENT AND WORKLOAD AS INFLUENCING FACTORS. TRIKONOMIKA, 23(2), 108–115. https://doi.org/10.23969/TRIKONOMIKA.V23I2.5352
Aszahrah, H., & Sary, F. P. (2026). Understanding Employee Retention: The Interplay of Workload, Compensation, and Job Satisfaction in PT.X. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, 642, 879–888. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-07220-7_76/SAVE-RESEARCH
Boekoesoe, L., Prasetya, E., Samani, G. G., Ahmad, Z. F., & Nurdin, S. S. I. (2023). FAKTOR RISIKO YANG BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN KELELAHAN KERJA DENGAN METODE FATIGUE ASSESSMENT SCALE (FAS) PADA PEKERJA KONSTRUKSI. Jambura Journal of Epidemiology, 2(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.56796/JJE.V2I1.21842
CNN Indonesia. (2025, August 20). BPS Catat Sektor Konstruksi Serap Lebih dari 8,7 Juta Pekerja. CNN Indonesia. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/ekonomi/20250819145053-92-1264049/bps-catat-sektor-konstruksi-serap-lebih-dari-87-juta-pekerja
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11419809/
Fathan, M. A., & Sary, F. P. (2025). Understanding Turnover Intention of Generation Z in Indonesia: The Role of Work-Life Balance and Work Environment. Jurnal Locus Penelitian Dan Pengabdian, 4(6), 2477–2491. https://doi.org/10.58344/LOCUS.V4I6.4241
Frone, M. R., & Tidwell, M. C. O. (2015). The meaning and measurement of work fatigue: Development and evaluation of the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory (3D-WFI). Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 20(3), 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038700
Ghaisani, D. A., & Susilowati, I. H. (2025). Risk Factors for Occupational Fatigue in Construction Workers: A Systematic Review. Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences, 6(1), 211–218. http://jiss.publikasiindonesia.id/
Hadi, S. (2000). Metodologi Research. In ICB Research Reports (4th ed., Number 9). ANDI.
Hadiyanti, K., & Sari, E. Y. D. (2025). Validating the Job Stress Scale for Indonesian Police: A CFA Study. Jurnal Psikologi Teori Dan Terapan, 16(01), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.26740/jptt.v16n01.p69-76
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate Data Analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2021). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). In SAGE Publication (3rd ed.). SAGE Publication, Inc.
Hazeen Fathima, M., & Umarani, C. (2022). A study on the impact of role stress on engineer intention to leave in Indian construction firms. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 17576-. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21730-2
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of Resources: A New Attempt at Conceptualizing Stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Kines, P., Lappalainen, J., Mikkelsen, K. L., Olsen, E., Pousette, A., Tharaldsen, J., Tómasson, K., & Törner, M. (2011). Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50): A new tool for diagnosing occupational safety climate. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 41(6), 634–646. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ERGON.2011.08.004
Li, G., Zhang, G., Zhang, X., Martek, I., & Chen, D. (2025). The Formation Mechanism of Employees’ Turnover Intention in AEC Industry. Buildings, 15(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15071061
Michielsen, H. J., De Vries, J., Van Heck, G. L., Van de Vijver, F. J. R., & Sijtsma, K. (2004). Examination of the Dimensionality of Fatigue: The Construction of the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 20(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.20.1.39
Mobley, W. H., Horner, S. O., & Hollingsworth, A. T. (1978). An evaluation of precursors of hospital employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63(4), 408–414. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.63.4.408
Moslem, M., & Sary, F. P. (2021). Pengaruh Ketidakamanan Kerja dan Stres Kerja Terhadap Intensi Turnover Pada Karyawan Kaltim Post Samarinda. Psikostudia : Jurnal Psikologi, 10(2), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.30872/PSIKOSTUDIA.V10I2.5221
Parker, D. F., & DeCotiis, T. A. (1983). Organisational determinants of job stress. Organisational Behavior and Human Performance, 32(2), 160–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(83)90145-9
Pei, S., Wang, S., Jiang, R., Guo, J., & Ni, J. (2024). How work stress influence turnover intention among Chinese local undergraduate university teachers: the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderating effect of self-efficacy. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1308486
Prosarani, A., & Putro, U. S. (2025). Strategic Decisions to Overcome Turnover Problems at PT XYZ Using Regression and AHP. Journal Integration of Management Studies, 3(2), 274–282. https://doi.org/10.58229/JIMS.V3I2.358
Ruivo, É. D. G., Rocha, L. P., Tomaschewski-Barlem, J. G., Dalmolin, G. de L., Juliano, L. F., & Yasin, J. C. M. (2023). Validity study of the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory among higher education nursing faculty. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 76(4). https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2023-0020
Sam-Mensah, R., Bingab, B. B. B., Boakye, K. O., & Boateng, R. K. (2025). Safety first, retention forever: enhancing commitment and reducing turnover through safety practices. Future Business Journal, 11(1), 52-. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-025-00475-0
Sasanti, N. M., Patiro, S. P. S., Maharani, A., Utomo, K. W., & Rekarti, E. (2024). The Effect of Career Development on Turnover Intention in the Construction Industry: Any Insights from Placement and Years of Experience to this Matter? (pp. 328–338). https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-558-4_19
Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2023). Research Methods for Business Students (9th ed.). Pearson.
Schindler, P. S. (2019). Business Research Methods (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2019). Research Methods For Business: A Skill Building Approach. In Research methods for business: A skill building approach. (8th ed., 9). Wiley.
Selcuk, E., & Gundes, S. (2025). Workplace Stress Among Construction Professionals: The Influence of Demographic and Institutional Characteristics. Buildings, 15(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15244460
Seo, H. J., Rhee, S. Y., & Yoon, Y. G. (2025). Enhancing Worker Safety Behaviors Through the Job Demands–Resources Approach: Insights from the Korean Construction Sector. Buildings 2025, Vol. 15, Page 486, 15(3), 486. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15030486
Song, J., & An, M. (2022). Factors Affecting Turnover Intention of Clinical Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital: Focusing on Fatigue, Nursing Professionalism, and Compassion Satisfaction. Korean Academic Society Of Rehabiltation Nursing, 25(1), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.7587/kjrehn.2022.40
Suárez-Albanchez, J., Blazquez-Resino, J. J., Gutierrez-Broncano, S., & Jimenez-Estevez, P. (2021). Occupational Health and Safety, Organisational Commitment, and Turnover Intention in the Spanish IT Consultancy Sector. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(11), 5658. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115658
Summers, D., Harries, J., Kirby, N., & Sarris, A. (2023). The validity and measurement equivalence of a brief safety climate questionnaire across casual and permanent workers. Safety Science, 159(1), 106034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2022.106034
Wang, X., Liu, M., Leung, A. Y. M., Jin, X., Dai, H., & Shang, S. (2024). Nurses’ job embeddedness and turnover intention: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 11(5), 563. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJNSS.2024.10.003
Xu, J. Bin, Zheng, Q. X., Jiang, X. M., Zhuo, Q., Nian, J. X., & Wang, J. T. (2023). Mediating effects of social support, mental health between stress overload, fatigue and turnover intention among operating theatre nurses. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 364. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12912-023-01518-Z