Breaking the silence of travel agency employees: The moderating role of gender

Abstract

This study aims to examine the associations between employee voice, job satisfaction and intention to leave. In addition, it investigates the moderating role of employee gender on the link between job satisfaction and intention to leave. Using structural equation modelling, and based on a sample of 551 travel agency employees in Egypt, the results show that employee voice is a key predictor of employees’ intention to leave. Furthermore, it has been found that employee voice has a higher association with job satisfaction for male employees, while the association between job satisfaction and intention to leave is almost identical between males and females. The findings hold significant implications for theory and practice. Theoretically, the study makes a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge focusing on employee voice in the tourism industry. Practically, the findings help travel agency managers improve employee voice practices, which, given the tourism industry’s reputation for high turnover and poor job security, is critical in achieving greater job stability and employee retention. Among other recommendations, one of the most important proffered by this study is for tourism businesses to improve job satisfaction by increasing the communication flow between managers and employees.