Effect of Flexible Work Arrangements on Turnover Intention: Does Job Independence Matter?

Tsen, Mung Khie; Gu, Man-Li; Tan, Chee Meng; Goh, See Kwong

doi:10.1080/00207659.2021.1925409

Cited by 19 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Supporting this notion, Mansor and Idris (2015) found flex time but not flex place will lower turnover intention using self-rated questionnaires with 120 respondents from Malaysia. Tsen et al (2021) also found a similar result using secondary data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) with a sample size of 16,920. Their results suggest that flex time significantly reduces turnover intention, but homeworking was found to have no relationship with turnover intention.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…In comparison to other FWA's, flex leave has not attracted as much research attention, and the latter's link to turnover intention is less lucid. Based on Mansor and Idris (2015), this relationship is not significant, though a recent study by Tsen et al (2021) unveils that flex leave significantly reduces turnover intention. Due to a dearth of empirical studies concerning flex leave, we developed our hypothesis for this genre of FWA based largely on theoretical reasoning and less on empirical findings.…”

Section: Flexible Work Arrangementsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“… Flex leave (immediate temporal and/or place flexibility): is informal organisational support; it is given in the form of paid time off to the employees who require immediate attention to resolve their personal/domestic issues during working hours. Despite its popularity, minimal research attention is given due to the lack of formal documentation (Tsen et al , 2021). …”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On top of these studies, a recent investigation by Choi (2020) also found that companies with a greater number of teleworkers have lower voluntary turnover intention. However, there are also researchers who fail to find a meaningful relationship between teleworking and turnover intention (Mansor and Idris, 2015; Tsen et al , 2021).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does flexible work arrangements decrease or increase turnover intention? A comparison between the social exchange theory and border theory

Tsen

Tan

et al. 2021

IJSSP

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PurposeMore companies embrace flexible work arrangements (FWA) as one of their employee retention strategies, yet its effectiveness is not consistent. Generally, past researchers use the social exchange theory to explain how FWA lowers turnover intention, while the rest adopts the border theory to justify why FWA can be ineffective. Here, the authors compare the competing theories for the first time to differentiate the theoretical reasoning of three forms of FWA (flex time, flex leave and homeworking). Two mediators (organisational commitment and work−family conflicts) are chosen to represent the mechanism of each theory.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ the latest wave of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) Work Orientation Module from 2015. Based on nationally representative data from 35 nations and 17,604 participants, the authors employed simple mediation and parallel double-mediation models via bootstrapping procedures to investigate the theoretical reasoning behind each FWA.FindingsThe results indicate that organisational commitment and work−family conflicts as significant mediators in all models, supporting both theories. The authors first tested each mediator in separated models. In models concerning the social exchange theory, all FWA lead to increased organisational commitment before lowering turnover intention, implying the beneficial outcomes of FWA. However, findings also support the border theory's perspective where flex time and homeworking increase turnover intention through heightened work−family conflicts. The parallel double-mediation further suggests that all three FWA forms have their unique theoretical framework, impacting turnover intention differently.Originality/valueBoth the social exchange theory and border theory are well-developed theories but grounded on different theoretical reasoning. This is the first paper that compares both theoretical perspectives in the context of FWA. It offers a new perspective in explaining the inconclusive effectiveness of FWA and provides future researchers a more integrated interpretation and prediction of FWA's impact on turnover intention.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Flexible Work Arrangementsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Does flexible work arrangements decrease or increase turnover intention? A comparison between the social exchange theory and border theory

Tsen

Tan

et al. 2021

IJSSP

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“…Such arrangements include flexible work hours, flexible work location (Tsen et al, 2021a ), and even flexible career paths. Alternative work arrangements such as flexible work hours have been found to impact employees' health and retention rates as well (Shifirin & Michel., 2021 ; Tsen et al, 2021b ). These results demonstrate that alternative work arrangements are associated with better physical health, reduced absenteeism, and fewer somatic symptoms, suggesting that alternative work arrangements can facilitate employees in maintaining their health.…”

Section: Study 2: Job Pursuit Intentionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive influence of work–life balance benefits, employee recommendation, and job attributes on employer attractiveness and job pursuit intentions: two experiments

Ahamad¹,

Saini

Jawahar

2022

Asian Bus Manage

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Drawing on signaling theory (Spence 1978), we propose that communicating work–life balance benefits offered along with favorable employee recommendations and valued job attributes could be construed as signals organizations deliberately use to influence potential applicants' perceptions of employer attractiveness and enhance job pursuit intentions. We test these ideas in two experiments. In study 1, using carefully constructed vignettes to manipulate work–life balance (WLB) benefits, employee recommendation, and job attributes in a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design and with data gathered from 320 Indian MBA students, we found support for the direct and interactive effects of these variables on employer attractiveness. In study 2, using a 3 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design and data from 360 Indian MBA students, we examined the influence of three different alternative work arrangements, a form of WLB benefit, and how such benefits interact with employee recommendations and job attributes to influence job pursuit intentions. We discuss implications for theory, research, and practice.

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An Empirical Analysis of the Mediating Role of Fear of COVID-19 Between Telecommuting and Employees Retention

Samad¹,

Rauza

Misron³

et al. 2023

Employ Respons Rights J

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Telecommuting has been found to have a profound effect on employee turnover intention. However, the literature is vague in understanding the mechanism through which telecommuting affects employee retention (ER). Grounded on the conservation of resource (COR) theory and social exchange theory (SET), this study examined the impact of telecommuting on ER and fear of COVID-19 and the subsequent impact of fear of COVID-19 on ER. The study also investigated fear of COVID-19 as a mediating mechanism between telecommuting and ER. Data collected from 307 employees working in nonprofit and nongovernmental organisations in Balochistan, Pakistan was analysed using PLS-SEM. The findings showed that telecommuting was positively related to ER while its relationship was negative and significant with fear of COVID-19. Further analyses showed that fear of COVID-19 was negatively related to ER. The findings further revealed that fear of COVID-19 mediated the influence of telecommuting on ER. The overall results demonstrate the importance of telecommuting in strengthening ER and reducing fear of COVID-19. The study provides a tool for policymakers and management practitioners to set up plans for a situation like COVID-19 in the future. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10672-023-09448-3.

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Effect of Flexible Work Arrangements on Turnover Intention: Does Job Independence Matter?

Cited by 19 publications

References 62 publications

Does flexible work arrangements decrease or increase turnover intention? A comparison between the social exchange theory and border theory

Does flexible work arrangements decrease or increase turnover intention? A comparison between the social exchange theory and border theory

Interactive influence of work–life balance benefits, employee recommendation, and job attributes on employer attractiveness and job pursuit intentions: two experiments

An Empirical Analysis of the Mediating Role of Fear of COVID-19 Between Telecommuting and Employees Retention

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