Supervisor support, work engagement and turnover intentions: evidence from Indian call centres

Purpose This paper aims to examine the relationship between supervisor support, work engagement and turnover intentions with work engagement playing the role of a mediator. Design/methodology/approach Data from 386 Indian call centre employees through questionnaire survey was collected. A variety of statistical tools such as confirmatory factor analysis, Sobel test and descriptive statistics were used for examining the relationship. Findings From this study, it was found that work engagement partially mediates the relationship between supervisor support and turnover intentions confirming well with the model hypothesized for the study. Originality/value Both employee turnover and disengagement levels in call centres keep on increasing, but very little research has been conducted so far on the linkage between supervisor support, work engagement and turnover intentions. Whatever little research has been conducted so far does not take supervisor support as a one-dimensional construct, thus obscuring its impact on work engagement and turnover intentions. That too, the findings about the relationship between work engagement and turnover intentions are mixed, thus calling for further studies. Moreover, the majority of the studies so far have come from Western contexts. The relationship is yet to be fully understood in the emerging Asian business context.