ABSTRACT
IT employee retention is a serious problem facing many organizations. Building on person-environment fit theory and utilizing survey data drawn from 21 state government IT departments, in this paper we examine the relationship between voluntary turnover and various aspects of the working environments which IT employees perceive to be unique to their profession (i.e., a departmental disposition toward learning and change, opportunities for cross-training, opportunities for job rotation, knowledgeable managers, knowledgeable colleagues, and work exhaustion). Work exhaustion, disposition toward learning and change, knowledgeable managers, and opportunities for cross training explained 30% of the variance in voluntary turnover intentions. Gender differences emerged.
- Agarwal, R., Ferratt, T. W., and De, P. 2007. An experimental investigation of turnover intentions among new entrants in IT. ACM SIGMIS Database 38, 8--28. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ahuja, M. K. 2003. Women in the information technology profession: a literature review, synthesis and research agenda. Eur J Inform Syst 11, 20--34.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Allen, M. W., Armstrong, D. J., Riemenschneider, C. K., and Reid, M. F. 2006. Making sense of the barriers women face in the information technology work force: standpoint theory, self-disclosure, and causal maps. Sex Roles 54, 831--844.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Anderson, C., Spataro, S. E., and Flynn, F. J. 2008. Personality and organizational culture as determinants of influence. J Appl Psychol 93, 3, 702--710Google ScholarCross Ref
- Armstrong, D., Allen, M. W., Riemenschneider, C., and Reid, M. 2008. Why Are IS Workers Unique? A Study of IS Professional Identity. Manuscript submitted for publication. Copy available from 1st author.Google Scholar
- Armstrong, D., Reid, M., Riemenschneider, C., and Allen, M. W. 2007. Managing IT employee retention: challenges for state government. In Modern Public Management Information Systems, G. D. Garson, Ed. Hershey Press, NY, 221--238.Google Scholar
- Armstrong, D. J., Riemenschneider, C. K., Allen, M. W., and Reid, M. F. 2007. Voluntary turnover and women in IT: a cognitive study of work-family conflict. Inform Manage 44, 142--153. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Cable, D. M. and Judge, T. A. 1996. Person-organization fit, job choice decisions, and organizational entry. Organ Behav Hum Dec 67, 294--311.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, G. D., and Klesh, J. 1978. The Michigan Organizational Assessment Package. University of Michigan Survey Research Center, Ann Arbor, MI.Google Scholar
- Chilton, M.A., Hardgrave, B. C., and Armstrong, D. J. 2008. Performance and Strain Levels of IT Workers Engaged in Rapidly Changing Environments: A Person-Job Fit perspective. Unpublished paper available from 3rd author.Google Scholar
- Choi, J. N. and Price, R. H. 2005. The effects of person-innovation fit on individual responses to innovation. J Occup Organ Psych 78, 83--96.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Coldwell, D. A., Billsberry, J., van Meuers, N., and Marsh, P. J. G. 2008. The effects of person--organization ethical fit on employee attraction and retention: towards a testable explanatory model. J Bus Ethics 78, 611--622.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Couger, J. D. and Zawacki, R. A. 1978. What motivates DP professionals? Datamation 24, 116--123.Google Scholar
- Dawis, R.V. and Lofquist, L. H. 1984. A Psychological Theory of Work Adjustment. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN.Google Scholar
- Edwards, J. R.M and Cooper, C. L. 1990. The person-environment fit approach to stress: recurring problems and some suggested solutions. J Organ Behav 11, 293--307.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Edwards, J. R., and Harrison, R.V. 1993. Job demands and worker health: three dimensional reexamination of the relationship between person-environment fit and strain. J Appl Psychol 78, 628--648.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Elfenbein, H. A. and. O'Reilly, C. A. 2007. "Fitting In": the effects of relational demography and person-organization fit on group process and performance. Group Organ Manage 32, 109--142.Google ScholarCross Ref
- French, Jr., J. R. P., Caplan, R. D., and Harrison, R. V. 1982. The Mechanisms of Job Stress and Strain. Wiley Pub, New York.Google Scholar
- French, Jr., J. R. P., Rodgers, W., and Cobb, S. 1974. Adjustment as person-environment fit. In Coping and adaptation, G. V. Coelho, D. A. Hamburg, and J. E. Adams, Eds. Basic Books, NY.Google Scholar
- Ginzberg, M. J. and Baroudi, J. J. 1988. MIS careers: A theoretical perspective. Commun ACM 31, 586--595. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Holland, J. L. 1992. Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments. Psychological Assessment Resources, Odessa, TX.Google Scholar
- Igbaria, M., Greenhaus, J. H., and Parasuraman, S. 1991. Career orientations of MIS employees: an empirical analysis. MIS Quart 15, 151--169. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Joseph, D., Ng, K., Koh, C., and Ang, S. 2007. Turnover of information technology professionals: a narrative review, meta-analytic structural equation modeling, and model development. MIS Quarterly 31, 547--577. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kaminski, J. A. M. and Reilly, H. R. 2004. Career development of women in information technology. S.A.M. Adv Manage J 69, 20--29.Google Scholar
- Kim, S. 2005. Factors affecting state government IT employee turnover intentions. Am Rev Public Adm 35, 137--156.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Kristof, A. L. 1996) Person-organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement, and implications. Pers Psychol 49, 1--49.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Kulik, C. T., Oldham, G. R., and Hackman, J. R. 1987. Work design as an approach to person-environment fit. J Vocat Behav 31, 278--296.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Lofquist, L. H. and Dawis, R. V. 1969. Adjustment to Work: A Psychological View of Man's Problems in a Work-Oriented Society. Meredith Corporation, NY.Google Scholar
- Lovelace, K. and Rosen B. 1996. Differences in achieving person-organization fit among diverse groups of managers. J Manage 22, 703--722.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Mayfield, J. and Mayfield, M. 2008. The creative environment's influence on intent to turnover: a structural equation model and analysis. Management Research News 31, 41--48.Google ScholarCross Ref
- McHugh, M. 1997. The stress factor: another item for the change management agenda? J Organ Change Manag 10, 345--362.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Missouri IT Environmental Scan Summary, 2005. DOI=http://dis.wa.gov/news/publications/05-07strategicplan.pdf.Google Scholar
- Meyerson, D. E. and Fletcher, J. K. 2000. A modest manifesto for shattering the glass ceiling. Harvard Bus Rev 78, 126--136.Google Scholar
- Moore, J. E. 2000. One road to turnover: an examination of work exhaustion in technology professionals. MIS Quart 24, 141--168. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Moynihan, D. and Pandey, S. K. 2008. The ties that bind: social networks, person-organization value fit, and turnover intention. J Publ Adm Res Theor 18, 205--228.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Newcombe, T. 2002. Filling the workforce gap. Government Technology. DOI= www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=8017andissue=4:2002.Google Scholar
- Orlikowski, W. and Baroudi, J. J. 1989. The information systems profession: myth or reality? Information Technology and People 4, 13--31.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Riemenschneider, C., Allen, M., Reid, M., and Armstrong, D. 2006. The effects of mentoring to reduce stress in a state IT department during times of transformational change. International Journal of Learning and Change 1, 429--445.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Tu, Q., Vonderembse, M. A., Ragu-Nathan, T. S., and Sharkey, T. W. 2006. Absorptive capacity: enhancing the assimilation of time-based manufacturing practices. J Oper Manag 24, 692--710Google ScholarCross Ref
- van der Post, W. Z., de Coning, T. J., Smit, E M. 1997. An instrument to measure organizational culture. South African Journal of Business Management 28, 147--169.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Wright, B. E. and Pandey, S. K. 2008. Public service motivation and the assumption of person -- organization fit: testing the mediating effect of value congruence. Admin Soc 40, 502--521Google ScholarCross Ref
- Wynekoop, J. L. and Walz, D. B. 1998. Revisiting the perennial question: are IS people different? DATA BASE Adv Inf Sy 29, 62--72. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- IT employee retention: employee expectations and workplace environments
Recommendations
Employee retention and turnover in global software development: comparing in-house offshoring and offshore outsourcing
ICGSE '18: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Global Software EngineeringHigh staff turnover has a negative impact on software development productivity and product quality. Further, offshore outsourcing has a widely held reputation for particularly poor employee retention. Interestingly, in-house sites (regardless of ...
Employee retention: By way of management control systems
Loyalty is passé in the modern time and professionalism is the buzzword in the contemporary corporate world. The reasons of employee attrition are also changing. Now-a-days employee leaves an organization for many reasons. Some leave for growth, some ...
Increasing student employee morale and retention by developing advanced employment opportunities: a Penn State perspective
SIGUCCS '04: Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM SIGUCCS conference on User servicesThe presenters manage two different groups of students with different responsibilities. Each was faced with the same problems-high turnover, the retention of good employees, and employee morale and motivation. The presenters will discuss how they ...
Comments