From spirituality to retention: The role of employee engagement in reducing turnover intentions in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

This study examines the impact of workplace spirituality (WPS) on employees’ turnover intentions, focusing on the mediating role of employee engagement within Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry. WPS is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct comprising meaningful work, sense of community, alignment with organizational values, transcendence, and emotional balance. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, the study proposes that WPS fulfills employees’ psychological needs, enhancing engagement, which in turn reduces turnover intentions. Data were collected from 316 pharmaceutical employees using a self-administered questionnaire, and the relationships were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results reveal that employee engagement fully mediates the effects of alignment with organizational values, sense of community, and transcendence on turnover intentions, partially mediates the effect of meaningful work, and does not mediate the effect of emotional balance. Among the dimensions, meaningful work and alignment with values produced the strongest indirect effects through engagement, highlighting the importance of fostering meaningful and value-aligned work environments. The findings contribute to theory by extending Self-Determination perspectives to organizational-level antecedents of engagement and retention, demonstrating that WPS can act as a strategic lever for sustaining human capital in high-pressure, knowledge-intensive industries. Practically, the study provides actionable insights for human resource managers seeking to enhance employee engagement and reduce turnover, particularly in emerging-market contexts where retaining skilled professionals is critical. By integrating multidimensional WPS with SDT, this research underscores how organizations can simultaneously support employee well-being and organizational sustainability through spiritual and motivational mechanisms, offering a nuanced understanding of engagement as a bridge between workplace spirituality and retention outcomes.