Work Environment as a Moderator Linking Green Human Resources Management Strategies with Turnover Intention of Millennials: A Study of Malaysian Hotel Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of green human resource management (GHRM) practices (e.g., green pay attention and rewards, green performance management, green involvement, green recruitment and selection, and green training role) on millennial employees’ turnover intention (METI) in Malaysian three-star, four-star, and five-star hotels with a moderator (work environment) using social exchange theory (SET). The survey used structured questionnaires to collect data from 210 millennial employees using the convenience sampling technique. The research hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings of this study indicate that only green rewards and green involvement have a significant impact on METI. Furthermore, the results indicate that the work environment has no moderating impact on the relationships between green HRM practices and millennial employees’ turnover intention. Finally, the implications, limitations, and future directions for research are also addressed to potential researchers.

1. Introduction

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries globally, contributing significantly to a country’s economic prosperity, particularly in developed and emerging economies [1]. In the same way, Malaysia’s tourism sector has grown considerably and is the third-largest contributor to the economy of Malaysia [2,3]. Malaysia welcomed 27 million tourists in 2019 and generated MYR 86 billion in this sector [4]. The hotel industry, as a service-oriented industry, is heavily reliant on human capital. Hotel owners rely primarily on their employees to provide superior services to remain competitive [5]. However, unfortunately, Malaysia’s hotel industry has been confronted with a severe issue in terms of employee turnover, as the vast majority of employees are millennials, such as “generation Y” (those born between 1981 and the late 1990s) [6]. Pikri [7] also endorsed this, noting that Malaysia’s millennial employees had higher turnover intention. The millennial generation is more intelligent than their forefathers because they desire complex designation and want recognition and ongoing challenges. Moreover, this generation believes that job-hopping will help them advance in their careers and as a result, embraces changing jobs [8]. The turnover of employees minimizes the tourism sector’s profitability, service quality, and performance due to its connection with financial and other resources in the recruitment and development of employees [3,9]. For the tourism industry, millennials’ turnover intentions seem to be an essential issue to be researched [10].

Previously, various strategies have been used to reduce employee turnover in organisations, most notably human resource management practices; however, these approaches have evolved and expanded over time. As the current study’s key focus is on the extended version of HRM practices, namely, the green HRM practices in the Malaysian tourism industry [11]. This is due to Malaysia’s recent sustainable movement in response to climate change issues, which has grown slowly but steadily [12]. Green HRM practices are critical in this regard, as they raise employee awareness of ecological problems and encourage them to take actions to reduce environmental emissions [13,14]. Green HRM practices are primarily concerned with the cohesion of traditional human resource management practices and organisational ecological goals, highlighting the relationship between green concepts in the environment and human resource management work [15].

Based on this, the study’s primary focus is on millennial employees, who seek a work environment that is meaningful and challenging [16], flexible [17], balanced in terms of employees’ file and transparent in terms of communication [18], team-oriented and collaborative [16], and so on. This is because millennials have a tendency to change jobs and the reason for this is generally poor employee relations and poor management, both of which stem from an organisation’s human resource functions and cause millennials to have a tendency to change jobs [19,20]. However, Thompson [21] asserted that organizations could not wholly avoid employees turnover, but they can significantly minimize it. Thompson [21] continued by stating that while millennials expect the same things as other employees, this does not imply that the conventional best practices will suffice to ward off the turnover intention of this generation. He went on to say that updated and proper training, recruitment, communication, financial incentives, career advancement and growth opportunities, and workplace culture procedures, such as promotions, leadership opportunities, teamwork, and diversity, can all be effective retention strategies for millennials in organizations. From this viewpoint, one could argue that a workplace with these characteristics could benefit from applying green human resource management practices effectively has received little attention in academic literature, particularly in the tourism industry, which has a high turnover rate. The main purpose of current study is to bridge these gaps by examining hotel employees’ perceptions of the impact of green HRM on millennial employees’ turnover intention, with a particular focus on the Malaysian hotel industry.

However, it has been asserted that the influence of human resource activities on employees’ behaviours and outcomes is highly contingent on how employees view and understand human resource activities [22]. Employees’ perceptions can lead to various attitudinal and behavioural responses on their part due to these perceptions. Individuals who believe their work environment to be supportive are inclined to trust their organization’s efforts and develop favourable attitudes toward these efforts at work. Different scholars have made numerous research calls to better understand the mechanisms by which green HRM practices influence behavioural outcomes [23,24]. Therefore, we propose a work environment as a moderator on the relationship between green human resource management practices and nongreen outcomes (millennial employees’ turnover intention). In that case, it will have added a significant potential construct to the existing literature.

The current study strengthens the green HRM and millennial employees’ turnover intention in four ways: Firstly, the tourism industry faces significant issues, focusing on green management and environmental sustainability [11,25]. To address these issues, the tourism industry should prioritize new and innovative sustainable management approaches (e.g., green HRM practices) [26]. This industry can use green HRM to gain a competitive edge [27]. Pham, Hoang [28] extensive review supported this observation, which identifies only a few empirical studies on green HRM practices published in tourism and hospitality journals. Secondly, rather than focusing on the conventional green HRM literature, which shows a significant relationship between green HRM practices and sustainable outcomes [29,30], the current study investigates the influence of green HRM practices on nongreen outcomes: millennial employees’ turnover intention. It is vital as green HRM has been shown to increase not only pro-environmental behaviours, but also nongreen attitudes and behaviours. This research gap is evident in the existing literature as evidenced by the previous studies [11,29,31,32]. Given this, the purpose of this research is to close the gap in the literature. Thirdly, the existing literature identifies various studies that examine the processes linked by green HRM practices and pro-environmental behaviours [26,33]. However, there have been few empirical studies that examine the underlying mechanism by which green HRM practices influence nongreen hotel employees’ outcomes, specifically millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Additionally, Ari, Karatepe [34] emphasize the importance of advancing green HRM research in tourism literature by investigating the outcomes of green HRM practices and the possible intervening mechanisms between green HRM practices and their outcomes. Based on this understanding, the current study used a supportive work environment as a moderator on the relationship between green HRM practices and millennial employees’ turnover intention. Lastly, previous research has stressed the importance of conducting additional research on the outcomes of green HRM practices in the Asian context [35]. Thus, by using the data obtained from Malaysian hotel employees, this study responded to calls for additional research on green HRM practices in the Asian setting.

Given this, the purpose of this study was to extend previous research by investigating the relationship between green HRM practices and Millennial employees’ turnover intentions in Malaysian three-, four-, and five-star hotels, using work environment as a moderator. A survey questionnaire was distributed to Millennial employees to investigate these relationships. In total, 171 useable responses were received. In the following sections, we provide a thorough literature review of the various concepts under consideration as well as their relative nexus. The method of empirical analysis used to test and validate the constructs evidenced in our theoretical framework is then discussed. We further provide a detailed presentation and discussion of our findings. Finally, we conclude with timely and relevant implications for theory and practice, while considering some limitations and key recommendations for future research.

2. Theoretical Background and Framework Development

2.1. Underpinning Theory

Social Exchange Theory (SET)

We are using SET to explain how green HRM practices are linked to the turnover intention of millennial employees. The social exchange theory lays down conditions under which individuals who benefit from other individuals or organisations try to repay [36]. Ref. [37] developed SET and is used extensively as a theoretical basis for research on employee retention and turnover to understand the correlation between employer and employee [38]. Regarding human resource management practices, individuals feel compelled to repay by devotion, engagement and positive attitudes and behaviour [39,40]. Social exchange theory also explains how individuals do better when the organisation values and support them [41,42]. In addition, the fundamental principle of social exchange theory is that an individual establishes a social relation based on mutually beneficial relationships. Employees’ turnover intentions will, therefore, rise and fall, depending on how the organisations handle themselves and profit from them. Thus, it is considered a reciprocation of employee and employer benefits. Accordingly, the current study implies that green HRM practices that influence millennial employees’ turnover intentions, as green HRM practices are already known as being suitable for individuals; they should, therefore, be indebted to reciprocate to repay, and employees’ turnover intentions can be decreased.

2.2. Green HRM Practices and Turnover Intentions

In today’s competitive business world, hospitality and tourism sector management strives to attract and retain a diverse range of prospective customers by adhering to environmental stewardship through the successful implementation of green human resource management policies [26]. Surprisingly, environmentally conscious buyers place a premium on environmentally sustainable programs (such as the implementation of green policies and reductions in energy and water use) and ecologically friendly characteristics in hotels [43]. Green HRM practices refer to human resource practices and policies that impact the overall business plan for natural resource preservation and protection [26]. Green HRM practices are strategies that help to develop a green workforce that values green culture and implements green practices [31]. Organisations should incorporate critical green knowledge into human resource policies (e.g., compensation systems, performance evaluation, training, and recruitment) [44]. Hotels increasingly recognize the benefits of green HRM policies in successfully implementing their environmental management initiatives [45]. In the hotel industry, examples of green recruitment and selection involve implementing an online application system to reduce the use of printed material. Moreover, green training and development include implementing orientation programs designed to heighten employees’ green/environmental awareness. However, it is possible to utilize online and web-based applications and modules. Similarly, green rewards in the hotel industry consist of paying employees monthly incentives to recognize their environmental initiatives.

Various strategies have been used to reduce employee turnover in organisations, most notably human resource management practices; however, these approaches have evolved and expanded over time. Traditionally, the human resource department of an organisation plays a vital role in disseminating and comprehending top management’s strategic visions to employees at all levels [46,47]. Evans [46] asserts that human resource management contributes directly to the successful execution of long-term goals and organisational effectiveness. Human resource management is also recognized as a critical organisational aspect that substantially impacts the employee–employer relationship in organisations [48]. Previously, several studies from various perspectives were conducted to investigate how HRM practices influence employees’ turnover intention. Several of these studies found a significant negative relationship between HRM practices and employees’ turnover intention, while others found no association.

However, the following are some of the several studies on the relationship between HRM practices and employees’ turnover intention that can be found in the existing literature. Santhanam, Kamalanabhan [49] discussed the conditions necessary for tourism organisations to retain their staff in India’s tourism sector. The findings revealed a strong positive impact of an organization’s human resource management practices (i.e., career growth opportunities, compensation, training, and selection practices) on employees’ turnover. Moreover, Gadi and Kee [50] argued that human resource management strategies, such as R&S, T&D, PA, teamwork, and communication significantly impact employees’ intention to stay in Malaysia’s hotel industry. Human resource management activities, mainly promotions and labour management participation teams, according to Huselid [51], lead to employee development and intention to stay, which negatively affect employees’ turnover intention. Human resource management practices, including participation in decision-making, job description, appraisal, compensation, employment security, and training and development, have a significant role in minimizing employee turnover intentions [52].

Nonetheless, Kothisware [53] also argues that green human resource management practices, including green teamwork and empowerment, green rewards, green training and recruitment and selection, have a significant effect on the management of employees to improve their performance, retention, and reduce the turnover intention of employees. The findings outlined that organizations may adopt various HRM practices to enhance the skills and productivity of their employees, resulting in a high level of commitment and a lower intention to leave the organization. The current study reflects Chen, Tang [54] approach to green HRM practices, including involvement, compensation and rewards systems, training, performance management, and recruitment and selection. Nonetheless, these and other green HRM scholars do not provide concrete evidence that any of the five green HRM practices directly affected employees’ turnover intention on the Malaysian tourism sector. Notwithstanding, in presenting an overview [54] of the human resource process implicated in green HRM, Renwick, Redman [24] opined that being green employers and implementing green human resource practices can enhance employees’ engagement and motivation while decreasing labour turnover.

Furthermore, Kothisware [53] contends that green human resource management practices, including green teamwork and empowerment, green rewards, green training and recruitment and selection, have a significant influence on employee management in improving employee performance, retention, and reducing employees’ intention to leave. Additionally, in prior research undertaken by Bombiak and Marciniuk-Kluska [55], Shaikh [56], and Thadani and Sakhawalkar [57], green compensation or rewards have been associated with increasing staff retention. In contrast, Nasurddin and Ling [58] stated that HRM practices mainly (performance appraisal, job security and compensation) had no direct impact on the turnover intentions of nurses in Malaysian hospitals “p. 40”. Whereas a study conducted by Yean, Johari [59] on the influence of human resource practices on millennial employees’ retention in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector. The findings indicate that only remuneration and benefits, i.e., rewards and pay, significantly affect millennial employees’ retention in organisations. On this account, this finding remains inconclusive and requires further investigation, particularly in Malaysia’s tourism sector.

Given the promising usefulness of green HRM literature, empirical studies in this area are still in their early stages [24], with numerous scholars urging additional research [32,60]. Because it is still unknown if green HRM policies are beneficial at reducing employees’ turnover intention, it is logical to conduct research based on the assumption of SET to fill this void [26,61,62,63]. To address these issues, the tourism industry should prioritize new and innovative sustainable management approaches (e.g., green HRM practices) [26]. This industry can use green HRM to gain a competitive edge [27]. Pham, Hoang [28] extensive review supported this observation, which identifies only a few empirical studies on green HRM practices published in tourism and hospitality journals. Moreover, rather than focusing on the conventional green HRM literature, which shows a significant relationship between green HRM practices and sustainable outcomes [28,29,30], the current study investigates the influence of green HRM practices on nongreen outcomes: millennial employees’ turnover intention. It is vital as green HRM has been shown to increase not only pro-environmental behaviours, but also nongreen attitudes and behaviours. This research gap is evident in the existing body of knowledge as evidenced by the past research [11,31,32] Given this, the purpose of this research is to close the gap in the literature.

Based on this, the study’s primary focus is on millennial employees (i.e., born between 1981 and the 1990s), who seek a work environment that is meaningful and challenging [16], flexible [17], balanced in terms of employees’ file and transparent in terms of communication [18], team-oriented and collaborative [16], and so on. From this viewpoint, one could argue that a workplace with these characteristics could benefit from applying green human resource practices effectively. This is because millennials have a proclivity to change jobs and the reason for this is generally poor employee relations and poor management, both of which stem from an organisation’s human resource functions and cause millennials to have a proclivity to change jobs [19,20]. Based on the preceding discussion, we proposed the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

Green reward has a significant and negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

Green involvement has a significant and negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

Green performance management has a significant and negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 4 (H4).

Green training has a significant and negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 5 (H5).

Green selection has a significant and negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention.

2.3. Work Environment as a Moderator

The term “work environment” refers to the settings or objects that influence our feelings and behaviour [64]. Merriam-Webster defined environment as “the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one has surrounded that influence an individual’s life”. One of the most important factors affecting employees’ turnover intention or intention to stay in organisations is the work environment [65]. In addition, the work environment is identified as an essential component that affects the retention of employees in an organisation [41,66]. For example, involvement, commitment and intent to stay are influenced positively or negatively by the work environment [67]. Here, the healthy, attractive, encouraging, and welcoming environment positively affects the purpose, engagement, and retention of employees. However, a supportive, inspiring, engaging, and clean work environment significantly affects employee commitment, turnover intentions, and retention [68]. Because of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, a supportive work environment can increase employees’ motivation to work, facilitating favourable job outcomes, such as lower intention to leave the organisation [69]. Therefore, this research aimed to establish that the working environment provides a significant link to minimizing the turnover intentions of millennials in the organisation.

Contextualized aspects, such as a supportive work environment, have a greater likelihood of influencing their decision to remain with the organization [70]. The social exchange theory [71] also supported that human resource management practices, e.g., green HRM (training, involvement, pay and rewards systems, performance management and recruitment and selection) developed by the organisation should theoretically minimize millennial employees’ turnover intentions, as millennials receive benefits from the organisation and, in return, their turnover intention will be reduced. Nevertheless, past studies appeared to be mixed on how HRM affects employees’ turnover intentions [72,73]. Based on the contradictory or mixed results of previous research, the work environment is added as a moderating variable in the link between green HRM practices and employees’ turnover intention. However, it is consistent with Jaworski [74] assertion that the efficacy of specific control mechanisms can be completely independent of external or internal contingent factors. Baron and Kenny [75] also endorse this: when there is a weak, inconsistent, or unclear relation between the predictor and criterion variable, it implies that the moderator should be used. Therefore, the current research proposes that the work environment be a moderating variable among green HRM practices and turnover intentions of millennial employees’ relationship in Malaysia’s tourism industry.

Additionally, the work environment was employed to moderate the association between entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance [76]. Similarly, it was evaluated as a moderator in a study examining the relationship between western expatriates’ commitment and retention in international projects/assignments [77]. The work environment was also treated as a moderator in the research performed by Bibi, Pangil [66], who demonstrated a moderating influence on the link between human resource practices, such as pay, training and development, performance, and employee retention. Nonetheless, little empirical evidence exists in the current literature to demonstrate the moderating impact of the work environment in the correlation among green HRM activities (green pay and rewards systems, green performance management, green participation, green training, and green recruitment and selection) and non-green outcomes, that is, turnover intention of millennial employees. Thus, the current study considered the work environment as a moderating variable to fill this gap and to further analyse the correlation between green HRM activities and millennials’ turnover intentions. Based on these research gaps, we proposed the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 6 (H6).

The work environment moderates the association between green rewards and millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 7 (H7).

The work environment moderates the association between green involvement and millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 8 (H8).

The work environment moderates the association between green performance management and millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 9 (H9).

The work environment moderates the association between green training and millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Hypothesis 10 (H10).

The work environment moderates the association between green selection and millennial employees’ turnover intention.

Moreover, a research framework is a representation of reality; it explains in greater detail those aspects (constructs) of the real world that scientists believe are relevant to the problem under investigation and clarifies the significant relationship among them [78]. The following research model in Figure 1 was developed based on the literature reviewed in the current study and theoretical discussions about green HRM practices, such as green participation, green remuneration and incentive systems, green performance management, green training, and green recruitment and selection as independent variables. The current research also adds to previous research by looking at the work environment as a moderating variable in determining whether green HRM practices are related to millennial employees’ turnover intention. We only targeted millennial employees (born between 1981 and 1990) because they want complex designations, recognition, and ongoing challenges. Furthermore, as previous studies [6,7,8] have shown, this generation believes that job-hopping will help them advance in their careers, and, as a result, they have a high turnover intention. We only targeted millennial employees (born between 1981 and 1990) because they want complex designations, recognition, and ongoing challenges. Furthermore, as previous studies [6,7,8] have shown, this generation believes that job-hopping will help them advance in their careers, and, as a result, they have a high turnover intention. Social exchange theory [71] is employed in developing the research framework.

As it is evident from the previous literature performed by Renwick, Redman [24] that green HRM is still in its early stages, and more empirical research is needed to advance the literature [32,60]. According to Tang, Ren [23], green HRM practices should be investigated in various geographies because national culture may impact the outcomes and meanings of green HRM. Most of the previous green HRM studies have been focused on green outcomes [23,31,44], while ignoring non-green outcomes, except for one study in Malaysia [25], and another in China [32], it appears that no previous studies have explicitly examined the influence of green HRM practices on non-green outcomes, necessitating additional research in this field. Additionally, a supportive work environment is identified as an important component that influences employee retention [41,66]. For example, involvement, commitment and intention to stay are significantly influenced by a supportive work environment [67]. However, a supportive, inspiring, engaging, and clean work environment significantly affects employee commitment, turnover intentions, and retention [68]. Because of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, a supportive work environment can increase employees’ motivation to work, facilitating favourable job outcomes, such as lower intention to leave the organisation [69]. Therefore, we proposed developing the research framework depicted in Figure 1 based on research gaps and recommendations from previous researchers.

3. Methods

In this research, all respondents are primarily millennial participants and are working in Malaysian hotels. The survey sought basic demographic details, including gender, age, marital status, and qualifications. Nevertheless, we did a pilot study first and received input from specific hotel staff, such as human resource managers, to modify the statements of certain items and exclude specific demographic options, such as salary and position. Therefore, most of the pilot study participants said that discussing position and pay range may produce an unfavourable image on participants, particularly those who work in hotels. Additionally, the pilot study assisted us in revising our technique for rapidly distributing the survey questionnaire. For instance, survey questionnaires were initially distributed to the reception and human resources departments, but the response rate was meagre when the researcher collected the questionnaires. As a result of a few human resource managers’ ideas, researchers directly approached employees of hotels based on 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star hotels now to invite them to participate in the survey rather than asking them to come to the hotel [79]. It is also worth noting that this study excluded 1-star and 2-star hotels due to their lack of dedication to environmental programs and green practices [80].

Additionally, employees working in these hotels would be uninterested in expressing their genuine turnover intentions via an internal survey performed by managers or human resource managers. This is because they may believe they may face the consequences for stating the correct turnover intention in response to a survey questionnaire. As a result, the researchers polled actual staff at the target hotels. The researchers surveyed between March and April 2020 with the assistance of the human resource departments of the selected hotels. A pick and drop strategy were used to fill the questionnaires. The authors personally visited the hotels and distributed the questionnaires to the millennial employees working in Malaysia’s 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star hotels. We only targeted millennial employees (born between 1981 and 1990) because they want complex designations, recognition, and ongoing challenges. Furthermore, as previous studies [6,7,8] have shown, this generation believes that job-hopping will help them advance in their careers, and as a result, they have a high turnover intention. A total of 171 questionnaires out of 210 were received from the millennial staff working in the Malaysian hotel industry. Moreover, we were able to guarantee a response rate of 81.43% for researchers strictly regulated by the filling phase to ensure high quality [14]. To this end, we were able to ensure a response rate of 81.43%, indicating that the quality was high and that the filling procedure was strictly monitored by researchers [14].

3.1. Measurement Scales

To measure green HRM (green pay and rewards, green performance management, green recruitment and selection, green training, and green involvement), a 19 item scale was adopted from Chen, Tang [54]. Six (6) items were used to measure green involvement. A sample item of the scale was “My organization has a clear developmental vision to guide the employees’ actions in environment management”. Similarly, three (3) items were used to measure green pay and rewards. The sample item of the scale was “My organization provides green benefits (transport/travel) available rather than giving out prepaid cards to purchase green products”. Likewise, four (4) items were used to measure green performance management. The sample item of the scale was “We use green performance indicators in our performance management system and appraisals”. Furthermore, three (3) items were used to measure green training. The sample item of the scale was “My organization develops training programmes in environmental management to increase employees”. Additionally, three (3) items were used for the measurement of green recruitment and selection. The sample item of the scale was “The organization attract green job environmental awareness, skills and expertise of candidates who use green criteria to select organizations”. The work environment scale with five (5) items was developed by Geare and Edgar [81]. The sample item of the scale was “Work environment of the hotel is good”. Lastly, turnover intentions with three (3) items were developed by Aaron [82] and which was further used by Foley, Hang-Yue [83]. The sample item of the scale was “I think a lot about leaving my job”. The items of the scales were measured on a five-point Likert type scale ranging from 1–5 (“strongly disagree-strongly agree”).

3.2. Analysis

This research used the Partial Lease Square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique to test the proposed hypotheses. Two stages, including the measurement (outer) model and the structural (inner) model, describe a PLS model. The outer model quality was evaluated by testing its reliability, e.g., internal consistency and item reliability. In addition, the validity of the outer model was assessed through discriminant validity and convergent validity (CV) and variance inflation factor (VIF). The inner model then focused primarily on the relationship between the independent and the dependent constructs. The significance of the inner model was assessed based on path coefficient values, the coefficient of determination (R²) values, and predictive relevance (Q²). Therefore, this research analysed the data using smart PLS 3.0.

The current study investigated the standard deviation, mean scores, and correlation of the study variables using SPSS version 23.0. The study’s findings imply that all latent variables’ scores were above the moderate level, as highlighted in

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis.

Constructs	Mean (Std. Dev)	GR	GI	GPM	GT	GS	WE	TI
GR	3.311 (0.831)	1
GI	3.415 (0.627)	0.574 **	1
GPM	3.623 (0.749)	0.628 **	0.594 **	1
GT	3.517 (0.727)	0.712 **	0.617 **	0.701 **	1
GS	3.170 (0.873)	0.528 **	0.710 **	0.643 **	0.576 **	1
WE	3.341 (0.676)	0.642 **	0.672 **	0.707 **	0.628 **	0.573 **	1
TI	3.425 (0.734)	0.750 **	0.627 **	0.676 **	0.765 **	0.638 **	0.743 **	1

Notes: ** Correlation significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed); GR = Green Reward, GI = Green Involvement, GPM = Green Performance Management, GT = Green Training, GS = Green Selection, WE = Work Environment, TI = Turnover Intention.

. To minimize CMV, all survey questionnaires included a cover letter assuring the confidentiality and anonymity of respondents’ responses [84,85]. Harman’s single-factor analysis was used to evaluate the common method variance [86]. The analysis results show that all items, and the larger variance proportion explained by a single factor, were only 34.76% explained by a single factor, implying that CMV was not an issue in this study.

3.3. Outer Model Assessment

Construct validity was tested for this study using a two-step approach recommended by Gerbing and Anderson [87] as shown in Figure 2. The current study evaluated discriminant validity, convergent reliability (CR) and internal consistency reliability (

Table 2. Results of outer model.

Constructs	Indicators	Items Loadings	CR	AVE
Turnover intentions	TI1	0.919	0.886	0.704
	TI2	0.921
	TI3	0.826
Green involvement	GI1	0.773	0.924	0.815
	GI2	0.757
	GI3	0.679
	GI4	0.696
	GI5	0.797
	GI6	0.757
Green pay and rewards systems	GPR1	0.936	0.938	0.852
	GPR2	0.869
	GPR3	0.738
Green performance management	GPM1	0.726	0.862	0.617
	GPM2	0.862
	GPM3	0.701
	GPM4	0.810
Green training	GT1	0.900	0.928	0.907
	GT2	0.898
	GT3	0.869
Green recruitment and selection	GRS1	0.854	0.891	0.735
	GRS2	0.807
	GRS3	0.736
Work environment	WE1	0.892	0.931	0.736
	WE2	0.930
	WE3	0.925
	WE4	0.887
	WE5	0.866

and

Table 3. Discriminant validity (Fornell–Larcker criterion).

Construct	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Green Involvement	0.859
Green Performance mgt	−0.305	0.813
Green Pay and reward	0.786	−0.210	0.797
Green Recruit and select	−0.326	0.095	−0.220	0.849
Green Training	0.234	0.014	0.325	−0.103	0.897
Turnover intention	0.754	−0.305	0.769	−0.217	0.209	0.869
Work environment	0.739	−0.231	0.746	−0.208	0.105	0.684	0.842

). For CV, the value of items loading should exceed 0.5, as suggested by Hair, Barry [88], whereas a CR value should exceed 0.7, as indicated by Straub, Gefen [89] and the value of average variance extracted (AVE) should exceed 0.50 [90] as shown in Table 2.

Furthermore, discriminant validity indicates how different a particular variable is from other variables. This was tested as suggested by Fornell and Larckar [90]. Based on this suggestion, the value of each variable on the diagonal should be greater than other variables. Each variable correlation exceeded by AVE square root, presenting a sufficient discriminant validity as shown in Table 3 [91]. In addition, for the discriminant validity analysis, this paper used the Heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlation [92]. As shown in Table 3, the analysis findings indicate that all HTMT values were less than the cut-off value of 0.85 as recommended by Kline [93] as shown in

Table 4. Discriminant Validity (HTMT).

Construct	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Green Involvement
Green Performance mgt	0.319
Green Pay and reward	0.769	0.217
Green Recruit and select	0.341	0.235	0.275
Green Training	0.207	0.147	0.310	0.127
Turnover intention	0.760	0.208	0.763	0.204	0.218
Work environment	0.794	0.138	0.672	0.196	0.230	0.638

.

3.4. Inner Model Assessment

In the second stage, the inner model was assessed. Several criteria were used to test the hypothesized relationships between the constructs in the structural model assessment [94]. The criteria included reporting for the path coefficient, standard errors, p-values, t-values, coefficient of determinations (R²), and predictive relevance (Q²), as recommended by Hair, Risher [95]. The R² values for turnover intention (0.357) demonstrated the model’s moderate predictive accuracy [96]. Moreover, the endogenous latent construct (turnover intention) had a Q² score (0.217) greater than zero, indicating that the model clear predictive relevance [97].

In addition, the results of the structural path coefficients indicate that out of 10 hypotheses, only 2 hypotheses were accepted as shown in

Table 5. Results of direct and moderation effects.

Relationship	Β-Value	SD	t-Value	Results
$\mathrm{GI}\to$ TI	−0.235	0.085	4.058	Accepted
$\mathrm{GPR}\to$ TI	−0.183	0.066	3.380	Accepted
$\mathrm{GPM}\to$ TI	−0.094	0.042	0.989	Rejected
$\mathrm{GT}\to$ TI	−0.095	0.035	0.792	Rejected
$\mathrm{GRS}\to$ TI	−0.086	0.041	0.710	Rejected
$\mathrm{GI}\times \mathrm{WE}\to$ TI	−0.017	0.015	0.079	Rejected
$\mathrm{GPR}\times \mathrm{WE}\to$ TI	−0.021	0.017	0.067	Rejected
$\mathrm{GPM}\times \mathrm{WE}\to$ TI	−0.083	0.049	0.461	Rejected
$\mathrm{GT}\times \mathrm{WE}\to$ TI	−0.014	0.013	0.618	Rejected
$\mathrm{GRS}\times \mathrm{WE}\to$ TI	−0.112	0.067	0.908	Rejected

. The results of the structural path coefficient indicate that the correlation between green involvement and millennial employees’ turnover intention is significant and negative (β = −0.235 and t-value = 4.058). Likewise, the structural path coefficient results indicate that the correlation between green pay and rewards systems and millennial employees’ turnover intention is significant and negative (β = −0.183 and t-value = 3.380), thus supporting H1 and H2. Moreover, the findings indicate that the relationships between green performance management, green training, green recruitment and selection, and turnover intentions were statistically insignificant. Thus, hypotheses H3, H4, and H5 were not supported. Nevertheless, the results structural path model indicate that the work environment does not moderate the correlation between green HRM practices (e.g., green training, green involvement, green recruitment and selection, green performance management and green pay and rewards) and millennial employees’ turnover intentions as shown in Figure 3. Therefore, rejecting hypotheses H6, H7, H8, H9, and H10, as shown in Table 5.

4. Discussion

The current study investigated the impact of green HRM practices on employee turnover intention working in the Malaysian hotel industry. Moreover, the work environment is also examined to moderate the association among green HRM practices and employees’ turnover intentions. The current study provides mixed results. Surprisingly, some of the anticipated green HRM activities do not directly impact the millennial staff turnover intentions employed in Malaysian three-star, four-star, and five-star hotels. Therefore, the results of the study indicate that the correlation between green HRM practices and millennial staff turnover intentions is not moderated by the work environment.

Existing research studies [25,32] have found that green HRM practices, such as green involvement, green compensation, green performance management, providing opportunities for green training, and green recruitment and selection, among others, have been linked to employee satisfaction. As a result, it is widely accepted that by ensuring the above-mentioned practices are in place, organisations can significantly reduce employees’ intentions to leave. Individuals and organisations provide reciprocal benefits to each other because they are bound by a social exchange relationship, according to organisational behaviour and applied psychology [98]. However, when individuals believe their organisation provides benefits, they reciprocate with a commitment to the organisation and continue to work there. Thus, specific green HRM practices (e.g., green involvement, green compensation, green performance management, providing opportunities for green training, and green recruitment and selection, among others) increase employees’ commitment to their organisations and, as a result, reduce their intention to leave [99,100].

With respect to first hypothesis (H1), the findings of the study indicate that green involvement has a significant direct impact on millennials’ turnover intentions, which is in line with previous research [18]. This is because millennials appreciate involvement in decision-making and desire to contribute, which results in increased engagement with the business. As a result, they tend to stay in the company for a longer time, so their turnover intention is related to the organization’s green participation process. Furthermore, several authors suggest that the employee level outcomes (i.e., employee competence, involvement, and motivation) associated with environmental-oriented practices (e.g., GHRM) can also drive financial performance, lowering absenteeism and turnover intention. Similarly, building on employees’ involvement in environmental activities and providing environmental training and goals may improve their skills, motivation, retention, and job-related outcomes, thus improving their intention to stay in the organization.

Moreover, keeping in view the second hypothesis (H2), the results of the study also demonstrate that green pay and rewards systems have a significant direct effect on millennials’ turnover intentions which is in line with the previous studies [7,21,39]. Green pay and reward policies positively correlate with dependent variables, implying a strategic “fit” between financial and turnover intention. Indeed, green pay and reward system practices are frequently related to increased efficiency for the utilization of assets and inputs, thereby fostering cost savings through product recycling and energy conservation [101], as well as quality improvements, the development of new processes and products [102], and the reduction in waste and rework [103].

Additionally, with respect to hypothesis (H3, H4, and H5), the findings of this study show that green performance management, green training, and recruitment and selection do not affect turnover intention. In this study, green recruitment, and selection for employees in the Malaysian hotel industry has no effect on their intention to leave. This is a more comprehensive view of any organisation as staff departures, and new hires are likewise detrimental to the company’s reputation. This also means that employees who are hired with an understanding of environmentally friendly criteria that align with their values will be more aligned with the organization’s commitment, hence reducing their intention to leave. Green recruiting refers to employing individuals who exhibit the behaviours, knowledge, and abilities associated with the organization’s environmental management system. According to Obaid and Alias [104] the recruitment process can assist businesses in achieving effective performance, including environmental performance, by ensuring that newly recruited staff is aware of the organisational environment culture and can uphold the organization’s environmental values.

Additional research demonstrates that green training does not affect turnover intention as the importance of green training is inextricably linked to organisational management practice. It is a time and money consuming perspective, in our opinion. Perhaps the employer is opposed to these learning programmes, or the company has a low turnover ratio. As long-term employees, they are acknowledged to possess a high level of competence and self-efficacy. To substantiate this, ref. [105] says that green training has a detrimental influence on turnover intention. In this scenario, the more effective the company’s green training, the less employee interest in leaving. This is backed by Jackson and Seo [106], who state that green training should be considered and extensively embraced by businesses as a critical practice of green human resource management (GHRM) [24]. Thus, the more influential the organization’s green training, the more capable the employees are of surviving in the company—the minimal likelihood of leaving employees at Malaysian hotels.

Therefore, the results of the study indicate that the work environment does not moderate the correlation between green HRM practices and millennial staff turnover intentions. Thus, hypotheses (H6, H7, H8, H9, and H10) were not supported in this study. It may be surprising that the millennial staff employed in the Malaysian hotel industry are due to the lack loyalty to their organisations, even though they have used various human resource management practices [58,107]. The unexpected results could be attributed to the characteristics of millennials employed in hotels; millennials have been identified as lacking commitment to organisations, even when these organisations employ a variety of human resource management strategies. Additionally, Bibi, Pangil [66] discuss that the work environment is a critical component in employee retention inside the organisation. In comparison, a healthy work environment that is supportive, motivating, appealing, and clean has a beneficial effect on employee dedication, retention, and turnover intentions.

4.1. Theoretical and Practical Contributions

The results of this research have theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, this research has potentially enhanced green HRM practices, turnover intentions, and work environment literature. The study’s primary focus is on millennial employees (i.e., born between 1981 and the 1990s), who seek a work environment that is meaningful and challenging [24] (p. 50), flexible [25], balanced in terms of employees’ file and transparent in terms of communication [26], team-oriented and collaborative [24], and so on. From this viewpoint, one could argue that a workplace with these characteristics could benefit from applying green human resource management practices effectively. Thompson [29] continued by stating that while millennials expect the same things as other employees, this does not imply that the conventional best practices will suffice to ward off the turnover intention of this generation. He went on to say that updated and proper training, recruitment, communication, financial incentives, career advancement and growth opportunities, and workplace culture procedures, such as promotions, leadership opportunities, teamwork, and diversity can all be effective retention strategies for millennials in organisations. If such practices are not implemented properly in an organisation, employees turnover intention will be higher, particularly among millennials, who may find another job. In the case of millennials’ intention to leave, either the new version of human resource management practices, for example, green HRM practices, can have a negative or positive effect has received little attention in academic literature, particularly in the tourism industry, which has a high turnover rate. The main purpose of the current study is to bridge these gaps by examining hotel employees perceptions of the impact of green HRM on millennial employees’ turnover intention, with a particular focus on the Malaysian hotel industry.

Furthermore, this research demonstrates that green HRM activities have a direct and indirect effect on millennial staff turnover intention employed in hotels. The study empirically demonstrates that integrating environmental management into human resource and turnover area improves financial and environmental performance. Thus, this study adds to prior meta-analyses indicating that human resource strategies [108] and turnover intention boost and diminish firms’ competitive advantage. Moreover, this study demonstrates that GHRM “produces” a resource (i.e., competent, involved, and motivated people used in turnover management processes to drive organisational performance. We emphasize the importance of environmental initiatives, such as supportive work environment that incorporate green human resource practices alongside green turnover intentions. The current study contributes to the body of knowledge by employing social exchange theory to demonstrate green HRM practices resulting in non-green outcomes (millennial employees’ turnover intention) in the Malaysian hotel industry.

Moreover, in comparison to the research implications discussed above, the results have three implications for managers. First, we develop an empirical development for making environmental management investments appealing to human resource and operational managers, demonstrating that such expenditures increase financial and environmental performance and reduce millennials’ turnover intentions. Green HRM practices, such as green pay and rewards systems and green involvement, significantly correlate with millennials’ turnover intentions employed in Malaysian hotels. Our results also clearly indicate that hotel managers or senior management must ensure the green involvement of millennial employees to minimize their turnover intentions. Second, our findings propose a cross-functional approach to environmental management by prioritizing synergetic investments in green human resource management and turning over the intention. Finally, we caution managers aiming to increase financial and environmental performance simultaneously that internal human resource policies have a favourable effect on both forms of performance, especially environmental performance. As a result, it appears as though the integration of environmental principles outside of firm bounds has not yet reached its full potential and will certainly require more attention. By doing this, companies will save from the highest turnover intention (e.g., millennial employees). In addition, other green HRM activities in organisations, such as hotels, should also be improved to minimize millennials’ turnover intentions, as this would contribute to greater involvement of millennial staff in the organisations.

4.2. Limitations and Future Research Directions

Despite this research, this research has some limitations, which have few practical implications for theory and practice. Firstly, in the case of causal inferences, the cross-sectional design of this research limits its ability. Bias may also have existed since both independent and dependent constructs were examined simultaneously. Therefore, the longitudinal method in further research will help cross-validate the current results. This may also give a clear explanation as to why green HRM practices relate to millennial staff turnover intentions. Secondly, we included only millennial staff employed in Malaysian hotels. Thus, the results of the study are not generalizable. Consequently, other employees should be added to future studies, and other related research may be carried out in other settings to generalize the findings. Thirdly, the findings of the current study revealed that only green rewards and green involvement have a significant negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention. For better results, other green HRM practices should be used in future studies. Fourthly, the findings also demonstrated that a supportive work environment has no buffering effect on the relationships between green HRM practices and millennial employees’ turnover intention. Based on these findings, further research is needed to better understand the relationships under study. We may also add gender, technology, and trust in management as moderators, clarifying a causal relationship more clearly.

5. Conclusions

Turnover intention among millennials has been a significant issue for the hotel industry within Malaysia. This paper investigates hotel employees’ perspectives on how green HRM practices influence millennial employees’ turnover intention. Most of the past green HRM studies have mainly focused on green outcomes [23,31,44], while ignoring non-green outcomes except few studies [25,32], it appears that no previous studies have explicitly investigated the impact of green HRM practices on non-green outcomes, necessitating additional research in this field. This study fills that void by providing valuable insights into green HRM practices that may influence nongreen outcomes, such as millennial employees’ turnover intention. Additionally, a supportive work environment is identified as an important component that strengthens the relationships between green HRM practices and turnover intentions. The findings of the current study revealed that only green rewards and green involvement have a significant negative influence on millennial employees’ turnover intention. The findings also demonstrated that a supportive work environment has no buffering effect on the relationships between green HRM practices and millennial employees’ turnover intention. To manage perceptions of green HRM practices and reduce turnover intentions, the hotel industry must carefully assess its retention programs and evaluation policies.