The information technology workforce: A review and assessment of voluntary turnover research

Abstract

International audienceDespite the numerous studies on the topic of IT employee turnover and recommendations to organizations on how to retain their employees, the general turnover trend of IT professionals remains high. The need for further research on IT turnover has been called for by many, but much of the literature continues to conduct similar studies using the same constructs, and these studies find similar results. Now is the time to turn our research attention to directions that have been unexplored or less explored. Newer research directions for the IT turnover literature will provide insights for refining and easing the impact of turnover on organizations. As we embark on new research frontiers in the IT turnover phenomenon, a comprehensive review and assessment of the state of the literature may facilitate future research in building off of existing knowledge. This paper reviews and assesses the existing literature on the voluntary turnover of IT employees, identifies the areas where research has matured, and raises directions for future research that are less chartered

Pay Satisfaction and Work Meaningfulness as Factors of IT Professionals Turnover Intentions an Investigation in the Romanian Context

“…One of the limitations of the present study is that we did not assess employees" actual turnover behavior; instead, we used turnover intentions as a proxy for the actual behavior of leaving the organization. There are scholars (Lo, 2015) who expressed concerns regarding the use of turnover intentions, questioning its validity as an index of employees" future behavior, especially on the grounds that some studies discovered that the associations between one"s intention to leave the company and his/her actual turnover behavior is not very high (Dinger et al 2012;Thatcher et al 2002). Nevertheless, most studies in this field, including specifically those on the IT workforce, have use intentions as a proxy for turnover behavior (Lo, 2015).…”

“…There are scholars (Lo, 2015) who expressed concerns regarding the use of turnover intentions, questioning its validity as an index of employees" future behavior, especially on the grounds that some studies discovered that the associations between one"s intention to leave the company and his/her actual turnover behavior is not very high (Dinger et al 2012;Thatcher et al 2002). Nevertheless, most studies in this field, including specifically those on the IT workforce, have use intentions as a proxy for turnover behavior (Lo, 2015). Furthermore, other investigations and metaanalytic studies (Griffeth, Hom, & Gaertner, 2000;Steel 2002) show that, although this index is not perfect in predicting actual turnover decisions, it still remains their best predictor.…”

The advancement and persistence of women in the information technology profession: An extension of Ahuja's gendered theory of IT career stages

“…Of these 3 main categories, career advancement was addressed in 40 articles, career persistence was addressed in 37 articles, and career choice was addressed in 33 articles. In addition, we found articles that could not be included in these 3 outcome categories, which we coded as not applicable because they focused on constructs such as work‐family balance (eg, Baral & Bhargava, ; Quesenberry, Trauth, & Morgan, ), examining gender differences (eg, gender comparisons with regard to process management skills; Gorbacheva, Stein, Schmiedel, & Müller, ), or other topics (eg, literature review, Lo, ; history of the field, Gannon, ; editorial, O'Keefe, ) that could not be categorized into any of the 3 career stage outcomes (choice, persistence, and advancement) in Ahuja's model. Appendix includes a list of all of the articles (94 in total), ordered alphabetically, with the corresponding categorization noted.…”

The Effect of Personality on IT Personnel's Job-Related Attitudes: Establishing a Dispositional Model of Turnover Intention across IT Job Types

“…Subsequent approaches might consider including them in their measurement. Eventually, in addition to individual characteristics, there are social factors like subjective norm (Lo, 2013) that might also affect job satisfaction; so future research should consider their importance in this context.…”