Hasliza Hassan

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Highly skilled and experienced professionals are essential to most profit-making organizations to sustain and remain competitive. This study aims to examine the central challenge of retaining skilled professionals in Malaysia, a key factor in sustaining organizational competitiveness and long-term profitability. A sample of 200 millennials was used to evaluate the potential for employee retention in relation to work-life balance, work environment, compensation, and supervisor support. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships among the constructs. The analysis shows that compensation (β = 0.353, t = 2.869, p = 0.002, f2 = 0.153) is the strongest predictor of employee retention, followed by work environment (β = 0.283, t = 1.653, p = 0.049, f2 = 0.082) and work-life balance (β = 0.246, t = 2.253, p = 0.012, f2 = 0.097). Together, these three factors explain 66.6% of the variance (R2 = 0.666) in employee retention, which is considered substantial. In contrast, supervisor support (β = 0.080, t = 0.681, p = 0.248, f2 = 0.010) does not significantly influence employee retention. Overall, the results show that financial rewards, supportive working conditions, and work-life balance are key drivers of professional retention in Malaysia. Instead of losing highly skilled employees to competitors, it is important to retain them by offering competitive pay, a positive work environment, and a fair work-life balance.