The study examined employees at PT Cemaru Lestari, a company operating in the palm oil plantation sector. The researchers used company data covering 2022 to 2024, including employee absenteeism, turnover, and disciplinary violations. During the period, fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production fluctuated, reaching 29.08 million kilograms in 2022, 29.04 million kilograms in 2023, and 31.72 million kilograms in 2024. The company had 429 employees, with 303 working as FFB harvesters.
The workforce data also revealed changes in employee attendance and turnover. Absenteeism stood at 0.44 percent in 2022, fell to 0.21 percent in 2023, and rose again to 0.43 percent in 2024. Employee turnover followed a similar pattern of fluctuation, declining from 19.56 percent in 2022 to 6.69 percent in 2023 before increasing to 7.41 percent in 2024.
Meanwhile, PT Cemaru Lestari recorded workplace disciplinary violations involving employees who were absent without notice, acted dishonestly, falsified reports, failed to follow supervisors’ instructions, or neglected their duties. Internal violations increased from nine cases in 2022 to 14 cases in 2023, before declining to seven cases in 2024.
Compensation and the Desire to Leave
The researchers connected these workplace conditions with two important human resource factors: compensation and turnover intention.
Compensation in the study included wages or salaries, incentives, and allowances. Interviews conducted for the research found that salary increases at PT Cemaru Lestari followed the regional minimum wage, while incentives were not always provided regularly. Certain positions also had limited allowances, and opportunities for internal career development were described as limited.
Turnover intention refers to an employee’s tendency to consider leaving an organization. It can include thinking about resignation, actively looking for another job, comparing the benefits and risks of staying or leaving, and eventually deciding whether to remain with the company.
The third factor examined was counterproductive work behavior, which refers to deliberate workplace actions that violate organizational standards or harm the organization and its members. The research considered behaviors such as avoiding work, performing tasks improperly, physical aggression, verbal hostility, theft, and sabotage.
89 Employees Included in the Analysis
Dewi Prasetia and Irfan Mahdi used a quantitative research design to examine the relationships between compensation, turnover intention, and counterproductive work behavior. The researchers collected information through questionnaires and interviews.
A total of 89 employees participated in the study through a saturated sampling approach, meaning all members of the identified population of monthly employees were included. The researchers then used multiple linear regression with SPSS to assess whether compensation and turnover intention were associated with counterproductive work behavior.
The measurement instruments passed the researchers’ validity and reliability checks. Cronbach’s Alpha values were 0.920 for compensation, 0.961 for turnover intention, and 0.967 for counterproductive work behavior, all above the study’s reliability threshold of 0.60.
Higher Compensation Associated With Less Counterproductive Behavior
The strongest findings concerned the different directions of the two relationships.
Compensation had a significant negative effect on counterproductive work behavior. The regression coefficient was -0.128, with a t-value of -2.090 and a significance level of 0.040. In practical terms, higher compensation was associated with lower levels of counterproductive work behavior among the employees examined.
By contrast, turnover intention had a significant positive effect on counterproductive work behavior. Its regression coefficient was 0.292, with a t-value of 3.493 and a significance level of 0.001. Employees showing stronger intentions to leave were therefore associated with higher levels of counterproductive workplace behavior.
When the two factors were examined together, compensation and turnover intention had a statistically significant relationship with counterproductive work behavior. The F-value was 9.978, with a significance level below 0.001. The correlation coefficient was 0.434, indicating a moderate relationship.
However, the researchers caution that compensation and turnover intention do not explain the entire problem. The model accounted for 18.8 percent of the variation in counterproductive work behavior, while the remaining 81.2 percent was associated with factors outside the research model.
Implications for Human Resource Management
The findings suggest that companies may need to pay closer attention to both employee compensation and retention. Improving compensation could help reduce the likelihood of counterproductive behavior, while a growing intention among employees to leave may signal broader problems that management needs to address.
For businesses such as palm oil plantation companies, the issue is particularly relevant because employee behavior can affect daily operations, discipline, productivity, and workplace relationships.
Dewi Prasetia and Irfan Mahdi of Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak conclude that compensation and turnover intention are meaningful factors associated with counterproductive work behavior, but they are only part of a larger picture. The researchers recommend examining other factors, including job satisfaction, work stress, the work environment, organizational culture, and leadership style.
The researchers’ findings also suggest that employee retention should not be viewed only as a matter of preventing resignations. A strong intention to leave can coincide with changes in workplace behavior before an employee actually departs. For management, monitoring employee satisfaction, career opportunities, compensation, and workplace conditions may therefore provide an opportunity to address problems earlier.
Author Profiles
Dewi Prasetia is affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak, with the article focusing on human resource management, compensation, turnover intention, and counterproductive work behavior.
Irfan Mahdi is also affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak and serves as the corresponding author of the article. His research in this publication concerns human resource management and employee workplace behavior. The journal article does not state the academic degrees of either author, so no degree is added here.
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