Examining Predictors of Job Retention Intention in Thailand: Evidence from Work-Life Balance, Job Autonomy, Compensation, and Leadership

Abstract

Employee retention has become an increasingly significant concern for organizations seeking long-term sustainability and workforce stability in Thailand. While previous studies have explored various factors associated with employee retention, limited research has simultaneously examined the combined influence of work-life balance, job autonomy, compensation, and leadership within the context of the Thai workforce. Accordingly, this study investigates the effects of work-life balance, job autonomy, compensation, and democratic leadership style on job retention intention among Thai employees. This study adopted a quantitative research approach utilizing convenience and snowball sampling techniques. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire from 254 employees representing diverse industries and occupational backgrounds in Thailand. The collected responses were subsequently analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis with IBM SPSS. The findings indicate that compensation and job autonomy have significant positive effects on job retention intention, with compensation emerging as the most influential predictor. Conversely, although work-life balance and democratic leadership style demonstrated positive associations with job retention intention, their effects were not statistically significant. Overall, the proposed model accounted for a considerable proportion of the variance in job retention intention among employees in Thailand. This study contributes to the existing literature on employee retention by offering empirical evidence from the Thai context regarding the relative importance of compensation and job autonomy in shaping employees’ retention intention. In addition, the findings provide practical implications for organizations and human resource practitioners in developing retention strategies that emphasize equitable compensation practices and enhanced employee autonomy to promote long-term workforce retention.