UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL, PANJAB UNIVERSITY,

CHANDIGARH

REPORT ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN IT INDUSTRY

WORKSHOP ON BUSINESS RESEARCH (MBAHR6108)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Dr. Purva Kansal Yash Srivastava
Professor Roll No. 36
University Business School, MBA HR Sem 1
Panjab University (Batch 2023 – 2025)
Chandigarh
 INDEX

Serial No. Particulars Page No.

01 Introduction 01
02 Significance of the Topic 02
03 Factors affecting Employee Retention 03
04 Objectives of the Research 04
05 Variables Used 05-06
06 Conceptual Framework of the Research 07
07 Review of Literature 08-12
08 Hypothesis 13
09 Research Methodology 14
10 Data Collection 15
11 Questionnaire 16-17
12 Responses to the Questionnaire 18-28
13 Results and Discussions 29-32
14 Conclusion 33
15 Future Scope 34
16 References 35
 INTRODUCTION

In the words of Armstrong, “Employee retention is the ability of an organization to retain its
best employees and hence maintain a lower employee turnover. It includes taking measures
so as to encourage work force to remain in the organization for a maximum period of time”.
These measures and strategies go a long way in motivating the employees and make sure that
they stick to the organization for the maximum time and contribute effectively. Thus, it is
equally important to retain the right employee along with hiring the right people for the right
task. In this rapidly evolving technological landscape, the Information Technology (IT)
industry highlights itself as a powerhouse of innovation and progress.
The Information Technology (IT) industry is a business sector that deals with computing and
related aspects, including hardware, software, telecommunications and generally anything
involved in the transmittal of information or the systems that facilitates communication. With
the growth that the IT industry is showing in India and across the globe, we also come across
several challenges which are related to employee management with employee retention being
the most talked about. In the recent trends, with the advent of new IT companies,
organizations face tough competitions from their competitors in regards with employee
retention.
The IT sector is characterized by its fast-paced nature, intense global competition, and a
constant demand for specialized and newer skills. Due to this unique nature of IT industry
retaining experienced IT employees proves to be a difficult task for organizations, leading
them to explore innovative strategies and best practices to keep their workforce engaged,
satisfied and therefore retain them. Also, IT companies invest a lot on the training and
upskilling of their employees with the new market technologies and skill sets and such
employees when they leave the organization prove to be a very loss for the organization due
to the high costs invested on the training as well as gives their competitors and edge over
them.
Employee retention earlier used to be related to a limited factors but with new practices like
remote work culture and more emphasis on elements like work life balance coming into play
we continuously see more and more factors coming up and linking themselves with employee
retention. Employee retention goes beyond the act of keeping employees within an
organization but it also makes a strategic approach that fosters loyalty, commitment, and
mutual growth. In olden days employee retention was mostly linked with compensation and
other benefits but the transition in the world and nature of employees has opened more doors
for discussions.
The research talks about how job satisfaction among the employees is affecting employee
retention in the IT industry. Career growth and work life balance have been considered here
in this research to develop an understanding about how these factors have an affect on job
satisfaction which directly relates to the practice of employee retention. Employee retention is
very essential to organizations because the cost of turnover can be very high as it includes
costs of advertising for the vacant positions, paying the recruiters, cost of training the new

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employee and costs and workforce hours involved in other tasks like employee onboarding
and induction.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TOPIC

As a future Human Resource professional, planning and strategizing the enterprise policies,
employee retention is going to be one of our responsibilities. Therefore, we decided to
conduct research on this topic to understand the past patterns and have an idea about the
influence of factors like career growth and work life balance on the employee retention.
As per the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, the IT industry in India proves
to be a global powerhouse today. The industry has a relative share to India’s GDP of around
7.5% in the FY 2022-23. The Indian IT industry involves a large number of human resources
(over 51 lakhs) and this number is rapidly increasing. In the recent times, the Indian IT
industry is having tough time in dealing with employee retention which is clearly depicted by
the graph shown further which shows the percentage increase in employee attrition
(Employee attrition is the departure of employees from the organization for any reason
(voluntary or involuntary), including resignation, termination, death or retirement) in the top
contributors of Indian IT industry.

The above graph shows the increase in the attrition rates of top IT companies in India –
Infosys, Wipro and TCS in the recent times.

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Attrition rate is the rate at which employees leave an organization divided by the average
number of employees at the organization over a given period of time.

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 FACTORS AFFECTING EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Employee retention in the IT industry in India is influenced by a variety of factors, which

range from the nature of the work given to the employee to the work culture of the
organization and also career development opportunities that help in professional growth.
These factors play a crucial role for IT companies in creating an environment where
employees are motivated to stay and contribute to the organization's success. Some of these
are:
 Balance in alignment of work: IT employees require varied skillsets as per the assigned
tasks. Engaging employees with projects that align with their skills and interests, allowing
them to innovate and solve complex problems, can significantly enhance retention.
 Competitive pay and benefits: Proper salaries and comprehensive benefits packages,
including health insurance, retirement plans, and bonuses, are essential for retaining IT
talent. Offering financial incentives and rewards to employees performing exceptionally
well can contribute to employee satisfaction and loyalty.
 Healthy Work Environment: Providing a comfortable, well-equipped workspace and
fostering a collaborative and supportive atmosphere would contribute to employee
satisfaction and retention.
 Work-Life Balance: The IT industry tasks often demand long hours and intense focus
from the employees. Organizations should promote a healthy work-life balance, offer
flexible working hours, and provide remote work options which can create a supportive
environment to enhance employee retention.
 Rewards and Recognition: Regular recognition and appreciation should be given to
employees for their performance through awards, bonuses, or simple gestures of
recognition to foster a sense of belonging and loyalty among IT employees.
 Organizational Culture and Values: A positive and inclusive organizational culture that
values diversity, encourages open communication, and promotes collaboration can create
a sense of belongingness among employees.
 Effective Leadership and Management: Managers who provide mentorship, guidance, and
constructive feedback can create a positive work environment that encourages retention.
 Job Security and Stability: IT employees are more likely to stay in organizations where
they feel secure about their jobs. Transparent communication about the company's
financial stability and future prospects should be shared with employees to help them in
having a sense of job security as they are prone to layoffs and other similar conditions
with new technology upgradations.
 Career Development and Growth Opportunities: IT employees are more likely to stay
with organizations that offer opportunities for continuous learning and career
advancement. Providing training programs, certifications, and clear paths for progression
can boost retention rates. Companies can organize training programs for employees based
on the new market trends and advancements.

Thus, we would be taking two of these factors – career growth and work-life balance to
study about employee retention in the IT industry.

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 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

The objectives of a business research refer to the specific goals and purposes that guide a
research study conducted within a business context. These objectives outline what the
researchers aim to achieve, providing a clear direction for the research process. Defining
clear objectives is essential as they help in focusing the study, determining the research
scope, and evaluating the outcomes.
The various objectives of this research – “Employee Retention in IT industry” are as follows:
• To analyze employee retention factors influencing the IT Industry in India.
• To show the relationship of job satisfaction with career growth and work-life balance and
thus determining their effect on employee retention amongst the IT employees.

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 VARIABLES USED

Variables are the things that we try to measure in our research in some way. They can be
measured in a quantitative way or a qualitative way. The variables define what need to be
measured and gives a specific point of view to the research. The research is based on three
variables – one dependent variable and two independent variables.
Dependent Variable Independent Variable
 Job Satisfaction  Work-life balance
 Career growth

Job Satisfaction:
Job satisfaction is defined as the extent to which an employee feels self-motivated, content &
satisfied with his/her job. Job satisfaction happens when an employee feels that he/she is
having job stability, career growth and a comfortable work life balance. This implies that the
employee is having satisfaction at job as the work meets the expectations of the individual.
Job satisfaction may not only be about compensation, perks or assets an employee might get
but also is about the environment, culture and quality of work which a company can offer to
employee.
Job satisfaction from an employee perspective is to earn a good gross salary, have job
stability, have a steady career growth, get rewards & recognition and constantly have new
opportunities. There are a lot of factors which go together to ensure high job satisfaction rates
in a company. To begin with hygiene factors like good pay, work life balance, perks, leaves
etc. play a very important role in making sure that the employee is content in the job. Job
satisfaction can be a relative term as it may depend on an individual's perception but overall
job satisfaction can be judged through various indirect parameters like productivity, attrition
rate, employee feedback etc.
Work-life Balance:
Work-life balance is an aspect of employee well-being related to the employee's ability to
manage both personal and professional responsibilities with adequate time for rest and
leisure. Each individual may define his or her ideal work-life balance differently. Work life
balance encourages employees to divide their time on the basis on priorities and maintain a
balance by devoting time to family, health, vacations etc. along with making a career,
business travel etc. Due to high pressure of work, often family members get neglected. Also,
stressful jobs cause the health of employees to deteriorate. This is where work life balance
come into the picture. Work life balance concept allows an employee to maintain a fine
balance in the time he or she gives to work as well as to personal matters. By having a good
balance, people can have a quality of work life.
This helps to increase productivity at workplace as the employee is relaxed about his personal
commitments. It also allows the employee to give quality time with family to spend
vacations, leisure time, work on his/her health etc. Hence work life balance is extremely

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important for employees and increases their motivation to work for the company. Work life
balance increases the motivation of employees and helps them perform better at job.
Career Growth:
Career growth is a dynamic and ongoing process of personal and professional development
that individuals undertake to achieve their goals and aspirations within their chosen field. It
involves acquiring new skills, expanding knowledge, and taking on increasingly challenging
roles and responsibilities. It encompasses all the steps an employee takes on their journey to
achieve their professional goals. Some of these steps are relatively small, like mastering a
new skill or working on a stretch assignment. Some are bigger, like earning an advanced
degree or promotion. But all of these steps contribute to overall improvement and help the
employee progress in their professional life.

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 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE RESEARCH

Based on literature reviewed and the hypothesis, the conceptual framework for this study was
developed and tested. In the context of this study, the main objective was to analyse how
career growth and work-life balance affected job satisfaction and hence employee retention.
The conceptual framework here gives us an idea that Work-life balance and career growth are
related with the variable job satisfaction which is the dependent variable and job satisfaction
is linked with the main idea of the research which is employee retention.

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 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Employee Retention
Hom and Griffeth (1995) described in a study that the process of encouraging employees to
stay for a long period or till the project completion is termed as retention. Wysocki, B (1997)
pointed out the view of “The Society of Human Resource Management” that retention of
employee is the hottest topic in the current scenario.
Drucker (1999) explained that employees voluntarily quit their job is a potential retention
issue. Trip, R, while discussing turnover stated that for many organizations, voluntary
turnover is a big challenge. Turnover may be - voluntary or involuntary and functional or
dysfunctional. Voluntary turnovers refer to leaving of an employee in an organization
voluntarily, the employee himself decides to leave/resign from the organization. In
involuntary turnover, the employer expels the employee i.e., the employee leaves the
organization unwillingly. It could be due to low performance, conflict or due to employment-
at will. When a low performer leaves the organization, it is referred as functional turnover.
When a high performer leaves, it is referred as dysfunctional turnover which incurs cost to an
organization. Terence et al., (2001) stated that there are so many reasons for an employee to
leave voluntarily. Some may be personal and some may be influenced by organizational
factors. Personal reasons such as family situation, career growth and attractive job offers etc.
Organization factors includes lack of promotional opportunities, unfair treatment among
employees and mismatch between personal values and organizational values etc., Overall
turnover is a great problem for both organization and individual. Further it is clearly
discussed that occurrence of shock which is expected or unexpected leads to serious thoughts
to leave. Shocks may be positive, negative or neutral. Positive such as alternative job offers,
pregnancy etc., Negative such as leaving of friends, poor performance appraisal etc. and
neutral such as relocation of spouse, changes in administration etc.
Abeysekera (2007) in a study evaluated the HR practices like realistic information about job,
job analysis, work life balance and career opportunities, supervisor support and compensation
and their impact on employees’ intentions to leave which resulted that compensation and job
analysis have positive impact on employee turnover.
Holtom et al. (2008) discussed in this study that the factors that makes the employee for
staying and leaving were different. Hay Group (2009) stated that employee engagement
includes components such as commitment and discretionary effort. Commitment refers to
employees’ attachment with an organization and the intent to continue with. Discretionary
effort refers to the employees’ readiness to leave. It is discussed that these two components
must be considered seriously.
Taylor (2010) while explaining turnover stated that pull and push factors are to be
considered. Positive attraction towards alternative job opportunity is pull factors, in which
employees are searching for alternative job opportunities even if they are happy and satisfied.
In this circumstance, it is highly essential that employer/management must understand the
real value of their employees and identify the reasons for searching or what they are
expecting in the current job and this would help to retain the talents. The next important

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factor is push factor, in which some dissatisfied circumstances are prevailing in the current
organization which makes the employee to leave for refining work life. There are several
attributes for pull and push factors that need to be identified and focussed more.
Cardy and Lengnick-Hall (2011) conducted a study on retention of employees, which
emphasizes more on customer-oriented approach. Employee equity model is the method
followed in this research. This study explores more regarding employees’ values rather than
external factors which have effects on the employees whether to stay or to leave. In other
words, this study was concentred towards internal factors which makes the employees to stay
or leave.
Chitra Devi and Latha (2011) conducted research on employee retention in IT sector. The
main aim of the research is to identify why employees are migrating one from companies to
another reasons for migration and to analyse the retention benefits. Discriminate analysis tool
was used and resulted that the sector has to focus on compensation, job satisfaction and job
security as these were some of the important tools used for retention of employees in
organizations.
Tripathi et al. (2011) attempted to analyse the problems faced by the professional institutions
private and government institutions and the factors to overcome the difficulties faced by
them. Analysis with respect to private and government institutions for Level of job
satisfaction, tenure of working, working environment, working hours, job switches and its
reasons, faculty loyalty and tenure of service and retention tools were suggested in this study.
Pay Dissatisfaction, lack of career growth opportunities, uncomfortable work environment,
unsecured job, Loyalty are the factors which determine an attitude in faculties concerning
their institutions. The study cited reasons for faculties leaving in existing employment and
what made them to stay in the current employment.
Work-life Balance
According to Lewis and Beauregard (2018) there is no one right definition, explanation or
understanding of the concept that is work-life balance, it has multiple overlapping definitions
that differ across organisations and research studies. The authors suggest that “the term was
initially understood by researchers as satisfying low levels of conflict between work and non-
work demands”. Meenalshi, Subrahmanyam and Ravichardran (2013) state that work-life
balance is the balance of satisfaction between a person’s family life and their work life.
Lazar, Osoian and Ratiu (2010) suggest that work-life balance refers to the way employees
manage their work and non-work activities.
Many research studies and organisations have defined the concept, however as previously
mentioned there is no one right way to define, explain or understand work-life balance. Many
research studies have shown that the idea of a work-life balance started in the Nineteen
Seventies and it represents the balance an individual has between their work life and the
demands of their personal life (Abdirahman at al, 2018). The concept emerged when women
first entered the workplace and began experiencing difficulties in managing the demands of
work and the demands of their personal life (Dizaho, Sallen and Abdullah, 2017). In the
workplace employers began to deal with these work-life balance issues by providing extra
benefits such as maternity leave and childcare (Emsile and Hunt, 2009). However, now-a-
days majority of employees in the workplace, regardless of gender, are beginning to value

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and appreciate a successful work-life balance more, and feel their employers play an
important role in ensuring this balance is achieved. Brid (2006) points out that multiple
research studies have shown that individuals across different generations and genders are now
considering work-life balance and the culture of an organisation before accepting a job
opportunity.
A successful work-life balance is not only becoming an important factor for employees, it is
also becoming a priority for employers as when achieved can have many benefits including
enhancing employee performance, productivity and the overall success of an organisation.
Bird (2006) suggests that work-life balance is the most important topic being discussed in
boardrooms and that its predicted to be one of the most important issues organisations human
resources (HR) departments will have to manage.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (2019) recently conducted a
survey in the United Kingdom with over 5000 people which highlighted work-life balance as
a specific problem with people reporting that their job caused disruption at home, stress and
made it hard for them to switch off. The CIPD (2019) are recommending that employers
introduce a greater range of flexible working practices to address these concerns and also to
benefit their business in the future. Dizaho, Sallen and Abdullah (2017) advised that
introducing flexibility into the workplace is essential if employers and HR departments want
to ensure their employees are achieving a successful work-life balance. The CIPD (2019)
describes workplace flexibility as “giving employees flexibility on where, when and the
hours they work”, and suggest some of the most common flexible working practices are
flexitime, job sharing, part-time working and home-working. The types of practices offered
to employees will depend on their organisations and their roles.
Meenakshi, Subrahmanyam and Ravichandran (2013) discuss numerous reasons why a work-
life balance is important including how it has a noticeable effect on an individual ability to do
their job and their performance. The authors suggest that from an organisational point of view
management can take many steps and implement different polices, practices and procedures
to help encourage employees achieve a healthy work-life balance. As previously mentioned,
organisations could introduce flexibility, focus on outcomes rather the amount of time spent
at work, ask employees how they can support them and much more (Meenakshi et al., 2013).
Mazerolle and Goodman (2013) conducted a research study to explore the factors that
influence work-life balance. Three factors which stood out from their data collection and
analysis were - having a family orientated and supportive work environment, having non
work outlets to engage in and individualistic strategies such as good communication and
setting boundaries. Mazerolle and Goodman (2013) also found that work-life balance was
one of the foundations for having a successful organisational environment and participants
reported this as being heavily influenced by the management style they were experiencing.
This emphasis the important role that all organisations have to promote and encourage a work
life balance among all their employees.
Brough, Holt, Bauld, Biggs and Ryan (2008) discuss some of the many benefits that can be
seen when employees in a workforce have a healthy work-life balance. These including
having lower levels of staff turnover, greater levels of job satisfaction, more commitment and
productivity, and a decrease in the number of physical and emotional issues reported at work.

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These benefits mentioned highlight yet again the importance of organisations and employers
promoting and encouraging work-life balance.

Work-life Balance and Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction can be challenging to measure as numerous researchers have proposed
multiple definitions for the concept. O’Reilly (1991) described job satisfaction as an
employee’s attitude, feelings and perceptions towards their job. Yang (2016) defined the
concept as the extent to which an employee positively evaluates their job. More recently,
Abdirahman, Najeemdeen, Abidemi and Ahmad (2018) suggested job satisfaction is reflect
by an individual’s attitude towards their job, their ability to do their job, the workplace
environment and how they are treated by management. Spector (1997) described job
satisfaction as the way which individuals feel about their job and the different aspects of their
job, with particular focus on the emotions that affect behaviour, performance and
organisational success. Sila and Sirok (2018) discuss the importance of organisations
measuring and promoting job satisfaction among their employees. The authors point out that
when employees experience greater levels of job satisfaction they perform better, are more
committed, more efficient and have lower levels of absences. Spector (1997) and Levi (2006)
both point out that when organisations fail to make a conscious effort to promote job
satisfaction it can lead to deviant behaviour, high absenteeism rates, high turnover and also
counterproductive behaviour which could result in organisational reputational damage. There
are many steps which organisations can take to increase job satisfaction levels among their
employees.
Keng et al., (2005) suggests practices such as training, employee relations, teamwork,
rewards, recognition, and empowerment all have an effect on a person’s level of job
satisfaction. In a study carried out by Kabak et al., (2014) it was highlighted that carrying out
these types of activities alone is not good enough, employees want to also be able to voice
their opinions more in relation to important organisational decisions. Job satisfaction has
been linked to many factors in the workplace including work-life balance in a wide range of
research studies.
Wen, Muthuveloo and Ping (2018) conducted a study among millennials working in
Malaysian multinational companies. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact
of employee development, employee reward and employee work-life balance on job
satisfaction. The researchers choose to focus on millennials in the companies due to the
global demographic shift which sees workforces today made up mostly by millennials. Smith
(2010) pointed out that millennials want to have a successful work-life balance and view it as
one of the most essential and attractive aspects of a job. Through their survey and data
analysis Wen, Muthuveloo and Ping (2018) can conclude that the 3 independent variables
being measured have a meaningful positive relationship with job satisfaction. Therefore, this
suggests that millennials working in these multinational companies who have a successful
work-life balance, receive rewards and development opportunities will be experiencing
higher levels of job satisfaction. Haar, Russo, Sune and Malaterre (2014) conducted an
investigation looking at the outcomes of work-life balance on several factors including job
satisfaction. The authors discuss how work-life balance is one of the most popular, everyday
concerns that’s discussed yet there is very little research surrounding the concept. Haar et al.,

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(2014) believed that “individuals who experience WLB may be more satisfied in their job and
life because they are participating in role activities that are salient to them”. Their research
study included over 1000 people across 7 different populations and highlighted that high
levels of work-life balance were positively associated with job satisfaction. The sample size
in this study is very large and also looked at multiple populations therefore, it is more
generalizable than the previous studies mentioned that focus on a specific job sector. Kanwar,
Singh and Kodwani (2009) also conducted a research study investigating if work-life balance
is a predictor of job satisfaction among employees in the information technology and enabled
services industries. Their findings showed that the 2 concepts were positively related with
one another which has also been highlighted in previous research studies discussed. The
findings also indicated that work-life balance made a significant contribution to job
satisfaction however, similarly to previous studies the authors focused on only 2 job sectors
therefore limiting the results to these areas but giving future researchers an opportunity to
explore other areas.

Career Growth and Job Satisfaction

Bassi and Van Buren (1999) identified in this research that competency and professional
advancement is the primary factor for retention of employees which are acquired through
training. Investing money on training is not a cost, it adds value and strategy of an
organization is reflected through training for the growth and successful survival. Deery
(2008) suggested that one of the ways to improve retention and commitment is providing on
the job training opportunities to workforce. Sarah Leidner et al., (2013) in this study, it is
highlighted that for promoting employee devotion to the organization HR practices play an
important role. It is found in this study that providing better training to workers leads to
employee loyalty.
One of the important factors of retention is development opportunities. The following
researches have mainly focussed on development opportunities. Horwitz et al., (2003)
explored in research that an important factor of retention is personal as well as professional
growth and it is the promotion opportunities which enhance commitment of the employees
and in turn results in employee retention. Illeris, (2003) emphasized the learning organization
strategy model through which the employees’ best learning in the work environment actually
happens. Kroon (2013) identified that development opportunities can improve employee
commitment to retain employees in organizations.

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 HYPOTHESIS

In business research, a hypothesis is a clear, specific, and testable statement or proposition

about a relationship between two or more variables. It is an educated guess or prediction that
researchers make before conducting an empirical study. Hypotheses are essential because
they provide a framework for the research, guiding the investigation and helping researchers
draw conclusions based on empirical evidence.
The hypothesis in this research are as follows:
Null Hypothesis:
 There is no significant relationship between career growth and job satisfaction.
 There is no significant relationship between work-life balance and job satisfaction.
Alternate Hypothesis:
 H1: There is a positive significant relationship between career and job satisfaction.
 H2: There is a positive significant relationship between work-life balance and job
satisfaction.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

There are three broad research choices - mono-method (single quantitative or qualitative
technique), multi-method research (multiple qualitative or quantitative techniques) and mixed
methods research (integration of quantitative and qualitative techniques). Basically, data is in
a numerical form and are treated using quantitative techniques in quantitative studies.
Conversely, in a qualitative study, information obtained is in the form of text and is analyzed
using qualitative data approach.

The research methodology used for examining the relationship here is quantitative approach.
In this, a structured survey has been conducted among over 50 employees from various
corporate organizations in India of IT industry. Statistical analysis will be employed to
examine the quantitative data, focusing on the relationships between career growth, work-life
balance and job satisfaction to have a direct effect on employee retention.

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 DATA COLLECTION

Data collection in business research refers to the systematic process of gathering, recording,
and measuring information related to a specific topic or problem under investigation. It is a
fundamental step in the research process, providing the raw material that researchers analyse
to draw meaningful conclusions, identify patterns, and make informed business decisions.
Effective data collection is essential for ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and validity of
research findings.
As this research is based on employees of IT industry, data was collected using google forms
based on the set of standardised questionnaires.
Total 61 respondents had entered the data out of which 6 data sets were polluted so we
excluded them.
Data collected was analysed using SPSS. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were run to
describe the characteristics of the sample gathered. A correlation analysis was conducted to
measure the relationships between the variables being measured.

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 QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire consisted of 27 questions in total divided among 3 sections – Work-life

balance, job satisfaction and career growth.
Work-life Balance:
The questionnaire on work-life balance is derived from a 15-item scale adapted by Hayman
(2005), originally developed by Fisher (2001). It is designed to assess three dimensions of
work-life balance work interference with personal life (7 items), personal life interference
with work (4 items), and work/personal life enhancement (4 items).

Serial Statement
Number
1 My personal life does not suffer because of work.
2 My job does not make my personal life difficult.
3 I do not neglect personal needs because of work.
4 I do not put personal life on hold for work.
5 I do not miss personal activities because of work.
6 I do not struggle to juggle work and non-work.
7 I am happy with the amount of time for non-work activities.
8 My personal life does not drain me of energy for work.
9 I am not too tired to be effective at work.
10 My work does not suffer because of my personal life.
11 It is not hard to work because of personal matters.
12 My personal life gives me energy for my job.
13 My job gives me energy to pursue personal activities.
14 I have better mood at work because of personal life.
15 I have better mood because of my job.

Career Growth:
Organisations that invest in career management are more likely to increase employee job
satisfaction (Lee 2000) resulting in retention. The questionnaire used is adapted from King
(1999), Gould (1979), and Coachlines career development needs survey.

Serial Statement
Number
1 My company provides clear information about career development
opportunities.
2 I am aware of the various career paths and growth opportunities available
within my company.
3 My company values and invests in employees' career development.
4 The company provides sufficient resources and support for career
development.
5 I am satisfied with the opportunities for skill development and training

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 provided by the company.
6 I am satisfied with the alignment between my career goals and the
opportunities available within my company.

Job Satisfaction:
Job satisfaction is measured here by using questions developed by Brayfield and Rothe
(1951) and it uses 18 items to describe overall job satisfaction. Some of the items taken here
are:
Serial Statement
Number
1 My job is like a hobby to me.
2 My job is usually interesting enough to keep me from getting bored.
3 I enjoy my work more than my leisure time.
4 I am well satisfied with my present job.
5 I feel that I am happier in my work than most other people.
6 Most days I am enthusiastic about my work.
7 I find real enjoyment in my work.

The questionnaire measured the responses on a 5-point Likert scale denoting

1 - Strongly Disagree (SD)
2 - Disagree (D)
3 - Neutral (N)
4 - Agree (A)
5 - Strongly Agree (SA)

The demographic questions that were asked along with these include:
Age: Numerical value input (only values above 18 years considered)
Gender: Male/Female/Prefer not to say
Name of Organisation: Text input
Job Title: Text input
Tenure in the company: Alphanumeric input

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 RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire received 61 unique responses (55 responses after data filtered). Below is
the response sheet for the questionnaire.
Age:
The respondents had age group in the range of 16 – 36 years. (Respondent with age 16
omitted from the filtered data. Hence the filtered data had age group of 21-36 years)

Gender:
The respondents had 41% females and 59 percent males. (Some respondents omitted from the
filtered data. Hence the filtered data had 56.4% males and 43.6% females)

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Work-life Balance:

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Career Growth:

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Job Satisfaction:

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The data gathered from the respondents was analysed using SPSS and the following results
have been obtained:
Job Satisfaction

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's
Alpha N of Items
.909 7

The general rule of thumb is that a Cronbach's alpha of 0.70 and above is good, 0.80 and
above is better, and 0.90 and above is best.
Here; our value is 0.909 and it can be considered as best.

Career Growth

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's
Alpha N of Items
.905 6
The general rule of thumb is that a Cronbach's alpha of 0.70 and above is good, 0.80 and
above is better, and 0.90 and above is best.
Here; our value is 0.905 and it can be considered as best.

Work-life Balance

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's
Alpha N of Items
.902 15

The general rule of thumb is that a Cronbach's alpha of 0.70 and above is good, 0.80 and
above is better, and 0.90 and above is best.
Here; our value is 0.905 and it can be considered as best.

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 Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
WB 55 2.33 5.00 3.5952 .66788
CG 55 2.00 5.00 3.6606 .85525
JS 55 2.00 5.00 3.4701 .82692
Valid N (listwise) 55

Work-life balance, Career growth and Job satisfaction show a standard deviation of 0.66788,
0.85525 and 0.82692 respectively.

Coefficientsa

Standardized
Unstandardized Coefficients Coefficients

Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

1 (Constant) -.115 .436 -.265 .792

WB .806 .126 .651 6.425 .000

CG .188 .098 .194 1.913 .061

a. Dependent Variable: JS

A higher t-value with work-life balance shows more stronger relationship between work-life
balance (IDV) and job satisfaction (DV) than career growth (IDV) and job satisfaction (DV).

ANOVAa

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 21.317 2 10.658 35.509 .000b

Residual 15.609 52 .300

Total 36.925 54

a. Dependent Variable: JS

b. Predictors: (Constant), CG, WB

The high F value shows the higher variation between sample

means relative to the variation within the samples.

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 Correlations

WBM CGM JSM

WBM Pearson 1 .457** .740**

Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 55 55 55

CGM Pearson .457** 1 .492**

Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 55 55 55

JSM Pearson .740** .492** 1

Correlation

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 55 55 55

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Using the table, we can infer that there is a positive relationship between the variables as the
Pearson correlation value is in the range of 0 to 1.

Model Summary
Adjusted R Std. Error of the
Model R R Square Square Estimate

1 .760a .577 .561 .54787

a. Predictors: (Constant), CG, WB

R2 value less than 1.0 indicates that at least some variability in the data cannot be accounted
for by the model. It indicates some other factors might also influence the results that have not
been included in the research.

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Graph

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 CONCLUSION

This research on “Employee Retention in IT Industry” analysed the effect of independent

variables – work-life balance and career growth and the dependent variable – job satisfaction
on employee retention.
The research was carried on Indian IT industry employees and data collected was analysed
through SPSS.
With the analysed data the results we can draw are as follows:
Work-life balance has a positive and significant impact on job satisfaction and thus employee
retention.
Career growth has a positive and significant impact on job satisfaction and thus employee
retention.
Hence, the alternate hypothesis H1 and H2 are accepted.
The higher t-value in SPSS analysis with work-life balance shows more stronger relationship
between work-life balance (IDV) and job satisfaction (DV) than career growth (IDV) and job
satisfaction (DV).
With this we can conclude that both these factors have a significant positive effect on
employee retention with work-life balance having more influence.

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 FUTURE SCOPE

The research had certain limitations which can be taken care while conducting succeeding
research in future. The future scope can be defined as follows:
 The research was conducted on a very small group of people hence it could be biased
towards the people of a particular mindset. A large sample population can be taken in
future to get better results.
 The research was concerned with only two independent variables but there are certain
other factors as well which influence employee retention.
 The research data was confined to age group less than 40 years of age so if we include a
more diverse group the results could have been different.
 Using an online questionnaire meant the researcher could not control when participants
were completing the questionnaire meaning they could be in a distracting environment,
discussing it with others or not applying their full concentration.

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