Rethinking Work in IT Companies: Impact of Flexibility as a Strategy for Boosting Satisfaction and Reducing Attrition in Tamil Nadu

Abstract

This study investigates workplace flexibility as a strategic method to enhance job satisfaction and diminish attrition intent among IT personnel in Tamil Nadu. While some employees now work at home, follow a hybrid model or have flexible schedules, these changes do not always result in the reduction of employee turnover due to variations in the way that organizations develop and implement their policies and provide support to their employees. The purpose of this study will be to identify whether workplace flexibility has a positive relationship with job satisfaction and to examine if flexibility and job satisfaction interact to impact employee retention and turnover intention.  The quantitative research methodology of descriptive research was used in the study. Primary data were collected from 117 IT employees in Tamil Nadu through convenience sampling. The study found that flexible working practices help to reduce employee commute related-stress and improve productivity; they also relate positively to employee job satisfaction and retention. However, job satisfaction relates to retention more strongly than does flexibility. The regression analysis indicated that job satisfaction predicts retention very well but that flexibility does not predict retention well on its own. Taken together, these data provide evidence for using flexible working arrangements as a means of enhancing employee job satisfaction through use of supervisor support and career development opportunities. Thus, flexible working arrangements contribute most to employee retention because of their ability to increase job satisfaction.