| Summary: | The sewerage operation system is among the most crucial infrastructures in the
development of residential, industrial, and commercial projects as it determines the
quality of life of the citizens. When the population increases, urbanization caused a
rapid increase in the amount of sewage manages by the government. The sewerage
management system was introduced in the country to protect the health of humans and
the environment. Malaysia established a regulatory framework for sewerage and
sanitation management as early as 1990. Beginning the year 1993, the sewerage
management system in Malaysia has been given to Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd.'s
(IWK) to manage the sewerage systems in the country. Due to the rapid increase in the
population and urban development, the amount of sewage to manage is also increased
tremendously. The tremendous increase in the amount of sewage has put the
environment under extreme pressure; hence, managing the sewage treatment system
effectively is extremely challenging. For one, the sewerage operation workers at all
levels are working under tremendous pressure to deliver their service. Thus, the quality
of service is not at a satisfactory level since the workers themselves are experiencing
severe occupational stress. Studies on the sewerage industry found poor supervision,
poor quality of construction and installation works, lack of awareness on environmental
issues, and effluent non-compliance are among the factors contributing to occupational
stress among the workers and hence give adverse effects on their work commitment.
This study intends to examine supportive leadership as a mediator in the relationship
between occupational stress and employee work commitment in the case of the
Malaysian sewerage operation industry. The target population of this study is the
sewerage operation workers registered with IWK in Malaysia. The study employed a
simple random sampling method to select respondents from the list of registered staff
of IWK. The selected respondents were given self-administered questionnaires to
respond at their own convenient time without fear and pressure. The researcher
modelled the inter-relationships among the constructs of the study using Structural
Equation Modelling (SEM) in IBM SPSS AMOS 25.0 as the method of data analysis.
Several direct effects, as well as mediation effects, were tested. Furthermore, the study
also tests the moderation role of supportive leadership in the model. The study found
supportive leadership act as a mediator between occupational stress and employee work
commitment. With regards to the mediator, the supportive leadership from the
management, the indirect effects of occupational stress on employee work commitment
is positive The discussion covers several implications of the findings towards the
theoretical as well as practical aspect as far as the sewerage operation industry is
concerned.
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