Turnover and Turnaway Intentions of IT Professionals and the Impact of COVID-19 on Their Work

Abstract

This paper aimed at examining the impact of threat of professional obsolescence, updating as play or work, perceived work overload, work exhaustion, affective commitment, on turnover and turnaway intentions of IT professionals in Mauritius. A quantitative, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 158 IT professionals. Contrary to previous studies, perceived work overload was negatively related to work exhaustion and updating as work was not related to turnover intentions, but was positively correlated to turnaway intentions. While 80.5% of survey participants felt they worked more at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, 62.3% were able to spend more time with their family and would work mostly from home if possible. The affective commitment of professionals towards their organization and the IT profession reduced their turnover and turnaway intentions, respectively. By rewarding their affective commitment and implementing adequate work from home strategies, the retention of IT professionals could be positively enhanced.