Aysa Siddika

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) can improve organizational effectiveness. Individual altruism and commitment to the organization are at the core of OCB. This study aimed to examine the impact of organizational commitment and demographic factors on OCB in the Malaysian financial sector. The cross-sectional study targeted 280 employees from diverse backgrounds and positions across banking and non-banking financial institutions following conventional as well as Islamic Sharia principles in Malaysia. The respondents include individuals from management levels (upper management, middle management, non-management) and divisions (finance, operations, retail/corporate banking, and others). Data analysis included multiple regression analysis and ANOVA. The findings reveal a complex interaction where organizational and normative commitment do not significantly predict OCB, while affective commitment shows a significant positive correlation with OCB. The study revealed that employees with higher emotional attachment to their organization exhibit more OCB (r = 0.155, p < 0.009). In addition, demographic factors, such as education (r = 0.025, p < 0.067), age (r = 0017, p < 0.003), tenure (r = 0.107, p < 0.003), and management level (r = 0.17, p < 0.004) emerge as positive influencers of OCB. Thus, higher education levels, older employees, longer tenure, and managerial positions are linked to higher levels of OCB. At the same time, no significant gender-based differences are observed in employees’ OCB. The findings imply that organizations should emphasize building emotional connections with employees through supportive leadership and a positive work environment to enhance organizational effectiveness.

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.