Index

• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Research Methodology
• Research Findings
• Results
• Discussions, Conclusions & Implications
• References

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the factors that affect voluntary turnover among millennials in the professional services industry in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An online survey using convenience sampling was used, of which a total of 120 samples were successfully collected from millennials working or having worked in the professional services industry and residing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was employed in the analysis part to suggest a working turnover model. Results of the analysis showed that career development showed little significance with voluntary turnover; work-life integration showed a moderate relationship with voluntary turnover, while stress has a strong relationship with voluntary turnover. On the other hand, working culture has no significant effect on the dependent variable. It is essential to emphasize that the findings of this research article will most significantly contribute to the sector of the economy that is concerned with professional services. In the context of forthcoming research, it is necessary to broaden the scope of past studies that have focused on the disparities across different generations of workers about their inclination to change employment willingly. It is crucial to take good care of the employees' physical and mental health. Employers may want to think about setting up an employee assistance programme ("EAP") that includes a hotline that anyone can call to speak with an outside counsellor who is available around the clock. Further investigation can be done to determine the other variables that might influence millennials' voluntary turnover in Kuala Lumpur's professional services sector.

Keywords: Career development, Job stress, Voluntary turnover, Working culture, Work-life integration.

Received: 2 February 2023 / Revised: 6 April 2023/ Accepted: 20 April 2023/ Published: 8 May 2023

Contribution/ Originality

This study aims to enrich the field of voluntary turnover in Malaysia by specifically focusing on the information technology industries. By integrating relevant variables, the study will investigate how these factors impact the voluntary turnover of millennials. This study examines the effect of working environment, career growth, work-life integration, and stress on voluntary turnover among Kuala Lumpur millennial’s.

1. INTRODUCTION

It is commonly believed that Millennials currently entering the workforce will be the generation responsible for reshaping the working world in the not-too-distant future. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (2011) and Dobbs (2020), millennials will account for fifty percent of the labor force by the year 2020 and seventy-five percent of that workforce by the year 2030. Millennials want their jobs to have an impact on the world. The ever-increasing and sizable proportion of the labor force that is made up of members of Generation Y is evidence that more investigation needs to be carried out to acquire a deeper understanding of the characteristics that define this group, with the end goal of elevating the level of productivity achieved by the businesses that make use of its members. The journey of a worker begins when he or she begins working for an organization as an employed worker and comes to an end when the worker leaves the organization voluntarily or because of circumstances beyond their control. According to Salahudin, Ramli, Alwi, Abdullah, and Abdul Rani (2019), terms associated with this include resigning from one's position, being fired, or what is generally known as turnover of labor.

When conducting research on labor turnover, researchers have used one of two approaches: either looking at the labor turnover that the worker had experienced in their previous employment (referred to as "actual turnover") or looking at the intention of quitting among existing underemployed workers (referred to as "turnover intention"). In spite of the fact that each strategy possesses both benefits and drawbacks, there is no denying the significance of conducting research on the topic due to the evidence that both types of employee turnover result in negative consequences. This study concentrated on the voluntary turnover that the respondents had reported based on their previous experiences with the subject matter. Many people use the term "voluntary turnover" to refer to the situation in which an employee voluntarily leaves an organization for a variety of reasons.

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether or not there is a connection between working culture, career development, work-life integration, stress, and voluntary turnover among millennials working in the professional services industry in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the context of Asia, the demographics of individuals who were born between 1985 and 2000 and are currently between the ages of 20 and 35 are the unit of analysis for this research (Business Circle, 2020; Ipsos Loyalty, 2017). These individuals are collectively referred to as Generation Y. This is significant because, according to Jamil and Chang (2018), half of the workforce in Malaysia is comprised of individuals who are younger than 30 years old and fall into the generation known as millennials.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

The departure of an employee from their position voluntarily is an example of voluntary turnover. On the other hand, involuntary turnover refers to a situation in which an employee leaves their positions in an organization as a result of being dismissed or fired (Al Mamun & Hasan, 2017). In this new era of globalization, voluntary turnover has been something that has been going on continuously. According to Coetzee and Roythorne-Jacobs (2012), managing employee turnover in the modern workplace of the 21st century has become an increasingly difficult task. According to the findings of research, a low voluntary turnover rate is both normal and necessary for an organization. On the other hand, a high rate of voluntary turnover is a significant problem that can be detrimental to the success of an organization (Sharma, 2016). According to Schlechter, Syce, and Bussin (2016), this will also have the effect of demoralizing the remaining talented workers in the workplace. According to Ong and Loh (2019), the typical length of employment for an individual in any organization is approximately two and a half years before leaving that position. According to Purba and Ananta (2018), one of the reasons that employees leave their jobs voluntarily is the desire to find work that is more satisfying at another company. According to Ong and Loh (2019), turnover among millennial employees is sometimes not caused by factors such as work-life integration or flexibility, but rather by factors such as flexibility and work-life integration, which are regarded as more important factors. The purpose of this study is to investigate this topic in greater depth.

2.1. Working Culture/Environment

According to the research of Albattat and Som (2013), employee turnover is a problem in Malaysian organizations because of the working environment. Blustein (2006) went on to say that social support from one's coworkers is critical to an employee's overall job happiness and reduces the risk that the employee may resign from their position. According to a study conducted by Zhang (2016), interpersonal relationships, even among people working in separate departments, have a considerable impact on the likelihood of an employee remaining with the company. According to Ballinger, Cross, and Holtom (2016), voluntary turnover is the result of interpersonal relationships that are poor and inefficient among peers and bosses.

Millennials are looking for jobs in companies that put an emphasis on doing the morally and ethically correct thing, and this is something they seek in an employer. Employees will choose to leave an organization as soon as there is even the slightest indication that it lacks the morals and values that they hold dear (Ruys, 2013). Gallicano, Curtin, and Matthews (2012) conducted more studies and found that millennials gave lower scores for being included in the decision-making process in their place of employment. This is an indication that they desire to be included in it, as it shows that they gave lower scores for being involved. According to Schaubroeck, Peng, and Hannah (2016) , when employees do not feel respected by their coworkers, they will experience feelings of isolation in a group, which will ultimately lead them to leave an organization. This brings us to the first hypothesis, which states that there is a strong relationship between the working environment and the percentage of employees who leave voluntarily.

Spiers et al. (2022) research examines National Health Service (NHS junior physicians' mental health issues. It shows that younger physicians' working conditions and cultures are not protected. The researchers interviewed 36 junior physicians and performed an online stakeholder conference with medical school leaders, specialty school leads, and NHS officials. Participants and stakeholders suggested improving organization, communication, support, and collaboration by adding resources and changing rotas. The report advises NHS officials, employers, and management to follow these principles and share good practices. It underlines that cultural variety and differences may increase creativity, diversity, and problem-solving speed. E-working is negatively correlated with power distance and positively correlated with indulgence vs restraint in 28 nations. Sturm et al. (2019) examined hospital staff views of work-related stress and strain, patient safety, workload, and care quality. Routine statistics assessed workload and patient safety, while surveys measured staff views. Staff views of poor workplace safety and cooperation are linked to worse patient outcomes. Overtime employment correlates with subjective job-related stress and strain. The research implies that objective workload metrics might indirectly monitor psychosocial strain and enhance staff well-being and patient outcomes. Staff feedback may improve patient and employee safety.

2.2. Career Development

According to Salahudin, Ramli, Abd Razak, Abdullah, and Masum (2021), working people place a high priority on the opportunity to advance in their careers as part of their employment.  According to research published by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in 2008, millennials consider the possibility of professional advancement to be an essential factor in determining whether or not they would remain employed by an organization for a longer period of time. In addition, it is essential to provide sufficient job resources for employees in order for them to be able to deal with a high demand for their employment while receiving help from their manager (Rossi, 2018). According to the findings of Caldwell and Hayes (2010), it is the obligation of employers to distribute resources and also supply employees with an adequate number of opportunities for professional growth in a manner that is courteous and fair. In addition, a greater incidence of employee turnover is the result of an organization's failure to provide sufficient opportunities for employees to advance their careers while also acknowledging the employees' desire to grow along with the company (Kreisman, 2002). According to Al Mamun and Hasan (2017), the failure of an individual to make development inside an institution is associated with a greater intention to leave that organization.

According to Babalola, Stouten, and Euwema (2016), managers who fail to give adequate feedback on an employee's performance as part of career development will cause the person to voluntarily leave the organization because they are uncertain about their future in the business. In addition, people are more likely to leave their jobs if the companies they work for do not offer them a sufficient number of opportunities for professional development (Liu, Liu, & Li, 2006). This is also corroborated by Pearce and Mawson (2009), who remark that a low rate of development programmes provided by organizations tends to lead to employees having poor job performance and resulting in higher employee turnover. Pearce and Mawson (2009) cite this as one of the reasons why employee turnover is higher. The creation of the second hypothesis takes all of these findings into consideration. H2: There is a relationship between professional advancement and turnover intention among millennials.

McCartney and Colon (2023) research tackles the national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) career enrollment problem. It underlines the STEM workforce shortage, demonstrating a disparity between employment availability and qualified graduates. A biology-focused career development course (CDC) affects biology majors in the study. 277 biology majors in their last semester were surveyed on the CDC's professional development modules and course schedule. Engaging with the CDC improves students' biology performance and identities as biologists. Students prefer early CDC access. The research gives qualitative data on the biology-focused CDC's processes and the best time for career development courses. Hope mediates school connectivity and youth job development in Kim, Carney, Guo, and Prescod (2022). 456 fourth-through-sixth-graders are involved. School connectivity influences early career development via hope, according to structural equation modelling. Developmental assets like school connections and hope promote career development in youngsters. The report underlines school counselling implications. Muleya, Ngirande, and Terera (2022) examined how training and career growth influence emotional commitment at a higher education institution. Despite the need for a dedicated and qualified workforce, South Africa's higher education system has little literature on this issue, which motivates me. Using stratified sampling, 274 workers provided quantitative data for a cross-sectional survey. Training, professional advancement, and emotional commitment are positively correlated. Career growth opportunities best predict emotional commitment. To boost emotional engagement, higher education institutions should invest in staff training, particularly career development.

2.3. Work-Life Integration

Work-life integration should be considered by businesses in order to help employees maintain a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives (Tser-Yieth, Pao-Long, & Ching-Wen, 2004), which would lead to an increase in employee retention rates. Older millennials are just starting families and getting married at the same time that businesses should be thinking about how to accommodate their needs. According to Prenda and Stahl (2001), employees who have a job that allows them some degree of flexibility tend to have a higher concentration level, more mental capacity, and appear to be more productive. This, in turn, benefits their employer in the form of a higher level of commitment to the employer's organization. Lack of integration between millennial's personal and professional lives is one of the seven major stressors that  Gallicano et al. (2012) identified as being present in their lives. This demonstrates how strongly millennials feel about the necessity of integrating their work and personal lives. Holt, Marques, and Way (2012) found that millennials are not interested in climbing the corporate ladder or making more money if there is a sacrifice of work-life integration. Holt et al. (2012) demonstrated that this finding strongly supports the need for work-life integration. According to Suifan, Abdallah, and Diab (2016), work and life are intricately intertwined, and as a result, they are reliable indicators of whether or not employees will remain with an organization. All of these factors played a role in the formulation of the third hypothesis, which states that there is a correlation between work-life integration and voluntary turnover among millennial employees.

Chenji and Raghavendra (2021) examined the pros and cons of COVID-19-related work-from-home policies. It examines work-family conflict, work-life integration, and related literature. The paper explores boundary and border management trends and theoretical viewpoints. Nishi, Yamano, and Matoba (2021) say machine learning is being used to study physician well-being and work-life integration. Their survey of Japanese doctors examined well-being and work-life integration predictors. Professional satisfaction, working hours, family support, gender, and power harassment all have an impact on a physician's well-being. Work-life integration and fragmentation are tendencies in employment (Basile & Beauregard, 2021). Extreme segmentation or integration may mismatch employee preferences with organizational supply. Fit and mismatch affect work-life conflict, enrichment, and organizational commitment in offshore employment, which is widely fragmented. Over segmentation leads to misfits, strain-based conflict, poor work-life enrichment, and organizational commitment. Sengupta and Al-Khalifa (2022) examined how pandemic-imposed distant employment affects Indian millennials. It examines the future of work and leaders' roles in managing the workforce in the "new normal." The study uses in-depth interviews with Indian millennial respondents. Remote work arrangements promote work-life integration and identify four main themes: management difficulties, job issues, logistical challenges, and psychological concerns.

2.4. Job Stress

According to Ramli, Salahudin, Zainol, and Suandi (2014), the majority of employees in many different sectors of the Malaysian economy experience job stress, which is also frequently referred to as occupational stress. In addition, Gilboa, Shirom, Fried, and Cooper (2008) suggested that stress at work leads to a reduction in both the quality of the service provided and the overall performance of the employee. Lepine, Lepine, and Jackson (2004), who remarked that job stress also leads to tiredness and diminishes employees' aptitude and willingness to learn, provide credence to this assertion. It was also explicitly acknowledged that individuals who are subjected to levels of occupational stress that are deemed intolerable may experience negative effects on their health as a result. (Salahudin, Baharuddin, & Alwi, 2017). According to Queiri and Dwaikat (2016), millennials experiencing high levels of job stress are more likely to have the intention to leave their jobs and are positively associated with employee turnover. One of the things that makes it difficult for companies in service-related businesses to keep young workers on staff is the prevalence of stressful working environments, which can lead to burnout on both the physical and mental levels. Yin-Fah, Foon, Chee-Leong, and Osman (2010) conducted a study on the association between job stress and turnover intention among Malaysian private-sector employees and found a positive relationship between the two factors. While this was going on, Rasli and Johari (2017) conducted a study on the intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of job-hopping. They found that stress in the workplace was one of the elements that affected the employee turnover rate of a business. Stress is one of the most significant contributors to employee turnover (Ahn & Chaoyu, 2019; Dlouhy & Casper, 2021), particularly in the professional services industry, which typically involves mental stress (Ahn & Chaoyu, 2019; Dlouhy & Casper, 2021). This would eventually be a high-risk element and require significant attention from the employers, which justifies the fourth hypothesis, which states that there is a relationship between job stress and voluntary turnover.

Han and García (2023) examined teacher stress and unions. Principal factor analysis assesses teacher stress using a nationally representative dataset. Contractual status and membership determine union strength. Teacher stress is negatively correlated with teachers' unions. Natural experiments in numerous U.S. states show that legislative and institutional changes undermining teachers' unions raise teacher stress, especially for male, experienced, highly qualified, and STEM-subject instructors. Japundžić et al. (2023) research examines how psychological stress affects doctors and dentists' hand eczema. The cross-sectional field research includes 185 doctors, dentists, and controls. Participants completed questionnaires on hand eczema severity, occupational skin concerns, and stress. Surgeons had much more hand eczema than controls. Doctors and dentists with and without hand eczema had varied stress levels.   A prospective multicenter cohort study of 383 women. Sociodemographic factors and outcomes were compared to resilience and stress measures. Most women had poor resilience, which was linked to area, adolescence, non-white ethnicity, education, income, and public prenatal care. Sociodemographic groups experienced more stress. Low resilience scores increased  stress and vulnerability.

2.5. Conceptual Framework

Based on all the literature, the following research model is developed to show the relationship between voluntary turnover and working culture, career development, work-life integration, and stress.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Population & Sampling

Millennials, or people between the ages of 20 and 35, who either work in the professional services industry at the present time or have previous experience doing so, are the subjects of this research. The sampling process is carried out in a convenient manner, and as a result, there are no restrictions placed on the respondents with regard to their gender, ethnicity, or any other considerations. It was determined that there were a total of 120 suitable respondents living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and an electronic survey was used to collect their responses.

3.2. Data Analysis, Individual Item Reliability, & Internal Consistency Reliability

In order to determine the dependability and validity of the data, the collected information will first be analyzed and interpreted using the measurement model that will be used in this study. The structural model will then be evaluated in the study to determine whether or not the constructs are connected to one another in any way. Examining the outer loadings of each construct in relation to the latent variables allowed us to evaluate the reliability of individual items. Every item was able to accommodate the loads that were required. The internal consistency reliability was evaluated by looking at the Cronbach's Alpha, which is an estimation of the reliability of the constructs based on the inter-correlations of the variables. This was done in order to ensure that the results were accurate. The reliability of the questions used to reflect the variables that were measured was indicated by the fact that all variables that were included were internally consistent.

4. RESEARCH FINDINGS

4.1. Demographic Profile

The analysis of 100 questionnaires revealed that the proportion of female respondents was significantly higher than that of male respondents. There were 73 female respondents (73%), and 27 male respondents (27%).  Due to the fact that the purpose of this study is to investigate millennials at a variety of ages, ranging from 20 to 35 years old, age is one of the most important factors to take into consideration when carrying out this research. The majority of the respondents, who number 100 in total, are between the ages of 24 and 27, making up 75 percent of what is conventionally referred to as the millennial generation currently working in the workforce. The next largest age group, with 13% of respondents, is those between the ages of 28 and 31. As a consequence of this, the percentage of respondents between the ages of 20 and 23, which is marked at 9%, and the percentage of respondents between the ages of 32 and 35, which is marked at 3%, are both very small batches. As a result of this analysis, we can see that the majority of people currently employed are millennials who are between the ages of 24 and 27. They are to be regarded as people who graduated a number of years ago and who have already been employed for a number of years in their respective fields.

Even though the majority of the respondents are between the ages of 24 and 27, it is not uncommon for them to be without partners. On the other hand, there is a relatively small number of respondents who are married, with a total of 11 of them. Legal and compliance consultants made up the majority of respondents (25%) while lawyers made up 21% of the total. In addition, 13% of the respondents work in accounting, and 12% provide management consulting services. In addition, only 9% of the people who responded to the survey are accountants, and engineers make up the same percentage. The remaining occupations, which include insurance agents and financial planners, account for the remaining 7% of the workforce. There are four people who answered the survey and fell into the 'Others' category. Three of the four are employed in the teaching profession, while the fourth is in the scientific field.  61% of those polled had been employed in some capacity related to professional services for the past two to three years. After that, there are twenty percent of them who have reached the one-year mark. There are nine percent of them who have been with the company for a period of time that is shorter than a year, and there are six percent of them who have been with the same company for between four and five years. Last but not least, only a fraction of them have been with the company for more than five years, which is a relatively small percentage.

4.2. Measurement Model

Figure 1 provides an abstract presentation of the comprehensive data results diagram that was populated in the SmartPLS software used as a measurement instrument. The results of the complete Partial Least Square (PLS) measurement model are summarized in Table 1, which can be found below. This table presents the outer loadings along with a description of each individual loading.

Constructs	Items	Description	Loadings
Voluntary turnover	VT1	I often consider leaving my current job.	0.877
	VT2	I am often on the lookout for new job opportunities.	0.457
	VT3	I will leave my current job if I get another suitable position.	0.816
	VT5	I frequently feel emotionally agitated when arriving home after work.	0.795
Working culture	WC2	I am satisfied with my relationship with my immediate supervisor.	0.915
	WC3	I am satisfied with my relationship with my fellow colleagues.	0.680
	WC5	My manager listens to me.	0.933
Career development	CD1	My employer is doing enough to enable people to pursue further education, learning, and development opportunities.	0.985
	CD3	My manager provides me with opportunities to develop and apply the skills I need to enhance my career.	0.667
	CD5	My manager provides me with job coaching to help improve my performance.	0.754
Work-life integration	WLI1	I can finish work within my contracted hours (e.g., 8 hours).	0.599
	WLI2	I have enough time for my family and friends.	0.933
	WLI4	Due to my flexible work arrangement, I am satisfied to work for the organization.	0.820
	WLI5	I can perform satisfactorily because I can strike a balance between work and other aspects of life.	0.911
Stress	S1	External pressures caused me or may cause me to leave my job.	0.829
	S2	I am stressed at work.	0.724
	S4	I always feel tired when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job.	0.881
	S5	I tend to have bad habits, such as smoking and drinking, due to the stress I perceived at work.	0.655

Construct	Cronbach’s alpha	Composite reliability	Average variance extracted
Voluntary turnover	0.744	0.834	0.569
Working culture	0.804	0.885	0.724
Career development	0.806	0.851	0.661
Work-life integration	0.868	0.893	0.683
Stress	0.778	0.858	0.605

Table 2 presents the Cronbach’s Alpha and composite reliability of all the five constructs, which ranged between 0.70 and 0.90 and are considered satisfactory.

5. RESULTS

From the summary table, the majority of the outer loadings are above the threshold of 0.70, which should be retained. However, there are a few indicators that have lower outer loadings, between 0.40 and 0.70. The authors suggested that outer loadings between 0.40 and 0.70 should be removed only if removing the indicators will increase the internal consistency.

5.1. Structural Model

From the bootstrapping process, we can get an overview of the t-statistics value and p-value of the measurement model. Figure 2 shows the results of the structural model for this study, with the p-values and t-values indicated in the model.

5.2. Hypothesis Testing

A total of four hypothesis were proposed in this study. The hypotheses were tested, and the results of the testing are shown in Table 3.

Hypothesis	Relationship	Path coefficients	p-value	t-value	Decision
H1	There is a positive relationship between working culture and voluntary turnover among millennials in the professional services industry in Kuala Lumpur.	0.120	0.295	1.048	Not supported
H2	There is a positive relationship between career development and voluntary turnover among millennials in the professional services industry in Kuala Lumpur.	-0.290	0.006	2.740	Supported
H3	There is a positive relationship between work-life integration and voluntary turnover among millennials in the professional services industry in Kuala Lumpur.	-0.300	0.000	3.877	Supported
H4	There is a positive relationship between stress and voluntary turnover among millennials in the professional services industry in Kuala Lumpur.	0.634	0.000	7.801	Supported

According to the table that was just presented, both Hypotheses 3 and 4 have p-values that are lower than the significance level of p less than 0.05, which stands at 0.000. When compared to the theoretical t-value of 1.96, the empirical t-value for hypothesis H3 is significantly higher, coming in at 3.877. Even though H3 has a negative path correlation, the fact that its p-value is less than 0.05 and its t-value is greater than 1.96 suggests that there is a significant relationship between the two variables. The fact that Hypothesis 4 has a higher empirical t-value of 7.801 than Hypothesis 3 does demonstrates a stronger indication of a positive relationship between stress and voluntary turnover among millennial working in the professional services industry in Kuala Lumpur. Also, H2 has a negative path correlation of -0.290, but its p-value is lower than 0.05, marking at 0.006, and its t-value is slightly above 1.96, marking at 2.740. In the same vein, H3 has a positive path correlation of 0.490. This demonstrates that there is a minuscule but positive correlation between career advancement and voluntary turnover. On the other hand, hypothesis H1 did not demonstrate any relationship, as its p-value was greater than 0.05, coming in at 0.295.

The t-value of H1 is also significantly lower than the t-value that is predicted to be 1.96. This suggests that the relationship is not very strong and is not particularly significant. As a result, the H1 hypothesis cannot be accepted. It is possible to draw the following conclusion as a result of the testing of the hypotheses: All hypotheses, with the exception of H1, were supported and indicated that career development, work-life integration, and stress have a positive relationship with the voluntary turnover among millennials in the professional services industry of Kuala Lumpur.

6. DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS

To determine whether or not there is a connection between working culture, career growth, work-life integration, stress, and voluntary turnover among millennials working in the professional services business in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the primary objective of this study is to determine whether or not there is a connection between working culture, career growth, and work-life integration. In this investigation, a total of four hypotheses are proposed, and the results of the testing of those hypotheses can be found in Table 3, which is located in the section that came before this one in the investigation's progression. Only one of the four hypotheses was found to have any kind of meaningful connection to the data, while the other three were confirmed to be accurate. These findings are considered to be a mixed bag of findings when compared to other studies that found a substantial association between the four parameters and voluntary turnover (Bu, McKeen, & Shen, 2011; Salahudin et al., 2019). The conclusion of the study was that, despite the fact that all  four variables that were suggested as the primary factors of voluntary turnover were mentioned numerous times in previous research, our findings showed that only one of the factors has a considerably high relationship (Job Stress), whereas the other two, namely career development and work-life integration, have a poor strength of relationship. This conclusion was reached despite the fact that all four variables that were suggested as the primary factors of voluntary turnover were mentioned numerous times in previous research.

According to the findings of the study, the correlation between career advancement and voluntary employee turnover was found to be stronger than the correlation between job stress and voluntary employee turnover. There is not even the slightest bit of a connection between the culture of a company and the working environment. This suggests that the previous and ongoing research on the common factors that contribute to voluntary turnover should shift towards considering certain other factors that are more likely to affect voluntary turnover among millennials. If the findings of this study are applied to the context of the working environment, managers and owners of companies may gain confidence in the idea that members of the millennial generation have preferences that are distinct from those of preceding generations in terms of the nature of the working environment. In addition, in order to develop a model of volunteer employment that is more effective among millennials, additional research should be conducted on topics such as flexibility in the workplace, autonomy, job engagement, enthusiasm, mobile work, and similar topics. It is essential to emphasize that the findings of this research article will most significantly contribute to the sector of the economy that is concerned with professional services. Within the context of upcoming research, the breadth of previous studies that have concentrated on the differences that exist between the various generations of workers in terms of their willingness to voluntarily switch jobs ought to be expanded upon.

This study came to the conclusion that there is a relationship between some variables and voluntary turnover. In the professional services sector of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it was acknowledged that career development, work-life integration, and stress have a favorable relationship with voluntary turnover among millennials. Knowing that these factors affect millennials' intentions to voluntarily join a company, employers should better understand these factors and use the findings of this study to develop retention strategies.

Even though stress has the strongest positive correlation with voluntary turnover, many employers do not consider stress to be a significant factor in how a person's job is affected. It is crucial to take good care of the employees' physical and mental health. Employers may want to think about setting up an employee assistance programme ("EAP") that includes a hotline that anyone can call to speak with an outside counsellor who is available around-the-clock. When it comes to opening up to outside professionals, employees are frequently more receptive. Since the programme has been made known to the staff, anyone who needs assistance or advice can speak with the counsellors. This, in my opinion, constitutes the initial step in determining the resources that are accessible to every employee of the company. As a result, staff members are aware that they have someone to turn to in difficult situations, such as when they are having problems with their managers or their families. Employers must also remind staff members that the workplace offers such assistance and guarantees confidentiality. This is done to earn the trust of workers who want to use the programme worry-free.

In summary, because the majority of jobs in the professional services sector are client-facing, it is a demanding and difficult industry. Therefore, in order to lower voluntary turnover among millennials in this industry, organizations would need to take into account the aforementioned suggestions.  Future studies could be carried out across the entire country of Malaysia, rather than just in one particular city, to get a more complete picture of all the millennials employed in Malaysia's professional services sector. Using this information, future researchers can also compare how millennials' intentions to leave an organization voluntarily differ in cities and suburbs. Future studies may also think about using a larger sample size in order to produce a more thorough conclusion.  Millennial’s in Asian contexts tend to be younger than those in western nations. The definition of millennials will need to be modified in light of similar future research. Future research can concentrate on additional research on this specific relationship, even though this study indicated that the relationship between stress and voluntary turnover is the most significant. In addition, future research can examine the connection between career advancement, work-life balance, and voluntary turnover to determine whether the importance of these two factors will rise or fall among millennials in various Malaysian cities. Further investigation can be done to determine the other variables that might influence millennials' voluntary turnover in Kuala Lumpur's professional services sector.

Funding: This research is supported by INTI International University in Malaysia (Grant number: T&E3035). Institutional Review Board Statement: The Ethical Committee of the INTI International University, Malaysia has granted approval for this study (Ref. No. INTI/UEC/2023/012). Transparency: The authors state that the manuscript is honest, truthful, and transparent, that no key aspects of the investigation have been omitted, and that any differences from the study as planned have been clarified. This study followed all writing ethics.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ Contributions: All authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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