Information Technology Employees Research Articles

Unveiling and Modelling the Impact of Learning Organisations on Information Technology Employees’ Career Advancement and Retention

Learning organisations facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for both organisations and their members, enabling the application of the latest insights in a dynamic environment. This study addresses a research gap by constructing a model identifying the factors influencing learning organisations and their subsequent impact. The research delves into uncovering the catalysts behind learning organisations concerning the career advancement of information technology (IT) employees and their intent to remain in their roles. The study, conducted in a developing country, India, employs an explanatory research design to explore the interrelationship between learning organisations, career progression and employee retention. Primary and secondary data have been used for this study. The primary data has been collected from 389 IT sector employees at various employment positions in Chennai through a structured and standard questionnaire based on the Dimensions of Learning Organizations Questionnaire (DLOQ) by Watkins, KE and Marsick, VJ (2023) [Rethinking workplace learning and development catalyzed by complexity. Human Resource Development Review, 22(3), 333–344. doi:10.1177/15344843231186629], demonstrating a high reliability at 96.4%.

A study on factors affecting job satisfaction in the IT industry

Although there are several definitions of job satisfaction or employee satisfaction, we may generally define them as a person's level of contentment with their job. Because they leave the company less frequently and stay longer, content employees help the business grow. Additionally, a positive work atmosphere attracts talent and boosts productivity by encouraging job satisfaction. The information technology (IT) industry has gained traction on the global scale and has taken centre stage in both our society and the world as a whole. The booming Indian economy has contributed to the ability of the IT industry to remain competitive in the international market. This study aimed to evaluate the degree of job satisfaction among IT professionals and identify the factors affecting that satisfaction. To highlight the factors affecting positive job satisfaction among IT industry employees, we included variables such as rewards and recognition, working conditions, fairness, job security, relationships with coworkers and employee satisfaction. After the data were cleaned, 100 responses were collected. The data were analysed using SPSS statistical software, and the findings showed that the job satisfaction of IT employees is strongly correlated with a number of factors connected to the workplace.

Assessment of Forward Head Posture in Information Technology Employees with Neck Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Neck pain is the most common complaint that we deal with in orthopedics, most of which are information technology (IT) professionals. These individuals have vocational mismanagement which leads to high incidence of forward head posture (FHP).
 Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2019 to June 2019 during which a total of 300 patients were taken into study. Clinical assessment of neck pain, head posture, range of motion (ROM), and radiological assessment of craniovertebral angle (CVA) and anterior head translation (AHT) was done.
 Results: Out of 300 patients, the majority of the patients were men. On average, men used computers for 9.6 hours compared to 9.2 hours for women. The average CVA was higher in women (58.8). The average AHT was more in men (22.9).
 Conclusion: As compared with the previous literature, our study showed that 84.3% of male and 92.91% of female participants had FHP. CVA was lower, while AHT was higher in both groups than the usual range. The mean AHT in our sample was 18.8 mm, which was found to be aberrant in the prior research studies. In our study, we have found a negative correlation between the CVA and AHT, resulting in FHP, which can furthermore lead to early changes of cervical spondylosis in IT employees, probably due to long hours of desktop usage resulting in fixed postural habit.

Levels of work stress among information technology professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in an Indian metropolis.

Amid the ongoing Non-Communicable Disease and COVID-19 pandemic, understanding prevalence and characteristics associated with work stress is vital from a health and economic perspective, more so among information technology (IT) professionals. To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with work stress among IT professionals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Bengaluru, India. A cross-sectional study was undertaken on a convenient sample of 356 IT professionals in Bengaluru, India, between September 2020 and March 2021 to assess work stress. The weblink to TAWS-16 (Tool to Assess and classify Work Stress) was provided for IT employees to self-report their experience of work-related stressors and coping abilities in the past 6 months. The prevalence and specific prevalence of work stress were calculated. Multi-variate logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with work stress. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics committee, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru. Informed consent was obtained from study subjects. The prevalence of work stress among IT professionals was 17.7% during the COVID19 pandemic, with higher rates among employees aged 31 years and above, among female employees, and among employees with 4-7 years of work experience. More than 80% of the professionals experienced deadline pressures, long working hours, regular multi-tasking, and difficulty in maintaining work-life balance. Based on the results, it is recommended to integrate work-stress assessment in periodical medical examination of IT employees from a health promotion and productivity improvement perspective.

She’s worth IT: challenges for female CIOs in ensuring IT security compliance

PurposeIT security compliance is critical to the organization’s success, and such compliance depends largely on IT leadership. Considering the prevalence of unconscious gender biases and stereotyping at the workplace and growing female leadership in IT, the authors examine how the internalization of stereotype beliefs, in the form of the employee’s gender, impacts the relationships between leadership characteristics and IT security compliance intentions.Design/methodology/approachA controlled experiment using eight different vignettes manipulating Chief Information Officer (CIO) gender (male/female), Information Technology (IT) expertise (low/high) and leadership style (transactional/transformational) was designed in Qualtrics. Data were gathered from MTurk workers from all over the US.FindingsThe findings suggest that both CIOs' and employees' gender play an important role in how IT leadership characteristics – perceived expertise and leadership style – influence the employees' intentions and reactance to comply with CIO security recommendations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's findings enrich the security literature by examining the role of leadership styles on reactance and compliance intentions. They also provide important theoretical implications based on gender stereotype theory alone: First, the glass ceiling effects can be witnessed in how men and women employees demonstrate prejudice against women CIO leaders through their reliance on perceived quadratic CIO IT expertise in forming compliance intentions. Secondly, this study's findings related to gender role internalization show men and women have a prejudice against gender-incongruent roles wherein women employees are least resistive to transactional male CIOs, and men employees are less inclined to comply with transactional female CIOs confirm the findings related to gender internationalization from Hentschel et al. (2019).Practical implicationsThis study highlights the significance of organizations and individuals actively promoting gender equality and fostering environments that recognize women's achievements. It also underscores the importance of educating men and women about the societal implications of stereotyping gender roles that go beyond the organizational setting. This research demonstrates that a continued effort is required to eradicate biases stemming from gender stereotypes and foster social inclusion. Such efforts can positively influence how upcoming IT leaders and employees internalize gender-related factors when shaping their identities.Social implicationsThis study shows that more work needs to be done to eliminate gender stereotype biases and promote social inclusion to positively impact how future IT leaders and employees shape their identities through internalization.Originality/valueThis study redefines the concept of “sticky floors” to explain how subordinates can hinder and undermine female leaders, thereby contributing to the glass ceiling effect. In addition, the study elucidates how gender roles shape employees' responses to different leadership styles through gender stereotyping and internalization.

How Employee Productivity Mediates the Effect of Organizational Justice on Work Engagement in Türkiye

This article explores whether organizational justice has a significant effect on work engagement, and if so, whether employee productivity has a mediating role on this effect. It studies the case of Turkish information technology employees, with an online survey method used for data generation, with data analyzed by SmartPLS and structural equation modeling with the least squares method. Cronbach’s Alpha and Compound Reliability values were used to test the reliability of the generated model. Average variance and factor loads were calculated to test convergent validity. Cross-factor loads were taken into account with the Fornell-Larcker criterion to assess differential validity. In this way, the study finds that organizational justice had a significant effect on work engagement and that productivity had a partial mediating role on this effect. Keywords: Work engagement, Organizational justice, Employee productivity

Health-Related Work Loss: Wellness Profiles of Information Technology Employees

Understanding health-related work loss and creating a comprehensive approach requires the identification of lifestyle behavior patterns. An essential part of this process is the examination of different profiles within the target population to develop effective intervention strategies. This study explored the wellness profiles of information technology (IT) employees regarding lifestyle behaviors and health-related work loss. The cross-sectional study surveyed 405 employees (174 women and 231 men) in six cities in Türkiye to examine lifestyle behaviors (exercise, nutrition, stress management, health responsibility, mental development, and interpersonal relations) and health-related work loss (presenteeism and absenteeism). Data analysis was conducted using independent samples t-test, ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and two-step cluster analysis. Regression findings indicated that physical activity, nutrition, and stress management behaviors statistically predict work performance in IT employees (p

How software as a service simultaneously affords organizational agility and inertia

Although cloud computing is associated with organizational agility, anecdotal evidence points to resistance to cloud computing by employees in information technology (IT) units. We explored the links between software as a service (SaaS) and organizational agility by conducting two stages of interviews with key informants in large organizations, and by employing affordance and inertia-theoretical lenses. Two basic affordances emerged from the retroductive data analysis – implementing quickly and sourcing independently – which in turn yielded two higher-level affordances: trialing alternatives and self-organizing business teams. We developed a model that explains how and why these four affordances enhance agility by accelerating the sensing-to-acting process of organizations. We also describe how five categories of organizational inertia in IT units hinder agility. Our main contribution is how adopting SaaS applications enables organizational agility while highlighting the role of IT unit inertia in SaaS affordance actualization processes.

Attracting and retaining high-performing professionals: the case of Descomplica

Learning outcomes The case study will encourage reflection on the challenges that organisations face in attracting, engaging and retaining knowledge workers that are critical to their performance and growth. It is set in the context of innovative, high-tech organisations whose success is heavily dependent on the performance of information technology (IT) professionals, a specialised and heavily demanded workforce. Case overview/synopsis The case study depicts the struggle of Manoel Almeida, Descomplica’s chief technology officer, to reverse the scenario of demotivation and high turnover among IT employees and to attract new talent. The case study addresses the themes of knowledge worker attraction, engagement and retention, with a focus on IT professionals. Complexity academic level This case study is designed for undergraduate and graduate education programmes/courses. Supplementary material Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 7: Management science.

A Study on Flex patriates Behaviour in International Assignments Among Information Technology Sector Employees

There are certain changes that are observed in the global workforce. It was seen that Flexpatriate's behaviour is one of the modern trends in the workforce. Therefore, the study has aimed towards analysing Flexpatriates behaviour in International assignments among Information Technology Sector Employees. The term Flexpatriates is relatively new thus people are not familiar with the term. Hence, secondary data was considered for the empirical analysis. In addition, a qualitative method of analysis was employed in order to deliver reliable results. It was observed that there are certain behavioural traits associated with the Flexpatriates. For instance, it was noted that globalization is a major factor that prompts such behaviour in employees. In addition, it was noted that the quality of work for international assignments is impacted by Flexpatriate's behaviour of employees. The prime reason for that was contemplated to be the work-life balance of such Flexpatriates behaviour. Moreover, it was noted that skills and adaptability for information technology employees are some of the major criteria of such employees that impact the quality of international assignments.

Are IT Workers from Mars? An Examination of Their National Culture Dimensions

The information technology (IT) workforce is characterized by several unique and contextual factors, such as the technology, the occupation itself, and the human factors. Among the human factors, global information systems (IS) studies have examined the role of national culture to explain many workforce differences and nuances across nations. In such cross-cultural research, IS researchers have primarily utilized the published scores of national culture dimensions as provided by the preeminent social psychologist and culture scholar Geert Hofstede and have applied them to various IT populations within a country. Given that the IT profession is unique in many respects, and there is cultural heterogeneity within a country, our study embarked on independently measuring and verifying the national culture values of IT employees in 37 countries. By using the original Hofstede scales, scores were obtained on five national culture dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation. We found significant differences between the national culture scores of IT employees and those available in the literature for the general population. Our results are novel and have profound significance. There are major implications for both past and future studies in cross-cultural research as well as for practitioners who interpret and utilize the findings of such research.

Exploring the Relationship Among Dimensions of Human Resource Organization Flexibility on Employee Engagement

The corporate world is renowned for its structured, scheduled workplace setting, which can pose challenges for workers to succeed. Companies that provide a flexible and positive environment tend to have better staff engagement. Therefore, this study aims to test the relationship between the four dimensions of HR (human resource) flexibility (Resource flexibility in HR practices, and employee skill behavior, and coordination flexibility in HR practices and employee skill behavior) with employee engagement. The proposed study gathered 267 responses from IT (information technology) employees and data were analyzed using AMOS v22 software. Findings revealed employee engagement has a strong positive relationship with the four dimensions of human resource flexibility which account for 92% of the variance, except a negligible correlation discovered between employee engagement and coordination flexibility in human resource practices. the findings of this study act as a strategic tool for HR practitioners to design their organization environment in such a way that fosters employee engagement.

Operations, IT, and construction time orientations and the challenges of implementing IOT

The adoption of Internet of Things has grown significantly in recent years both to address sustainability in campus operations and as part of digital twin systems. This study looks at in-depth cases of large university campus owners and the challenges that this IOT introduces for the maintenance and management of these systems and the data they collect. In this ethnography there are three main time orientations related to facilities management (Facilities), Information Technology (IT), and Capital Projects. First, a university campus is like a small city, with buildings, utilities, and transportation systems - taken together we call this campus infrastructure (buildings 50-100, roads and utilities 20-50 years). Second, IT employees think on 2–3-month scale, working through implementing software and hardware upgrades, configurations and patches, at times needing agile operations to deal with emerging cybersecurity threats. Third, in Capital Projects the design phase can last 9 months, and the construction from 1 - 2 years for a typical project, and this is where IOT technologies are often first introduced into campus. While the capital project teams reflect on the user experience, these teams are often removed from the realities of facilities management and do not understand the time scales or the scope of the work that is required to manage a portfolio of Facilities and IT systems. In this paper, we explore how these time orientations lead to tensions in the owners’ selection of IOT devices and systems, in the integration of new technologies into existing systems, and in the operations of keeping existing systems up and running for the longer time scales of campus infrastructure life spans. Furthermore, this paper presents a paradox: If they speed up, they lose things, if they slow down, they lose other things, and presents ways that owner organizations manage this paradox through temporal boundary spanners who understand the disciplinary requirements, cultures, and frameworks across the organization and helps to mitigate the tensions across these differences.

Developing a benchmarking model for subjective well-being: a combined approach using structural equation modeling and fuzzy AHP

Purpose The purpose of this study is not only to develop an integrated model of subjective well-being (SWB) by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) but also to prioritize the subfactors of personality and SWB that affect the contextual performance (CP) of an employee by using a fuzzy-analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), which has not been done in the past. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from 15 field experts and 412 employees of information technology (IT) companies operating in India. The data analysis was performed in two stages. The first stage includes CFA and SEM. The second stage includes prioritizing the factor through FAHP. Findings The results of SEM analysis manifested that all the dimensions of personality have a significant impact on CP. However, in the case of SWB, only two components (satisfaction with life and positive affect) have a significant impact on CP. Results of FAHP show that SWB is more important in predicting CP than the Big Five personality dimensions. Originality/value This research is a novel attempt to test and prioritize the factors affecting the CP of IT employees. The findings of the research will be useful for managers in increasing the performance of their employees. Further, the findings of the research will contribute to the literature on the factors affecting CP.

Current Trends in E-Human Resource Management and its Impact on Personal Effectiveness: An Empirical Study Concerning Informational Technology Employees

Objective: To examine the current E-Human Resource Trends and its effect on personal effectiveness of an employee concerning Information Technology employees in and around Hyderabad, and Indian Metro. Method: The four independent factors related to E- Human Resource Management (EHRM), the E-Hiring 5 items, E-Rewards & Recognition (4-items), E-Payroll Process 5 items, E-Performance Management 5 items and the one dependent factor Personal Effectiveness with 6 items were measured. The data are gathered through a structured questionnaire consisting of 25 items to measure the above said 5 factors published on the Google Form, and a link to 400 Information Technology employees provided through WhatsApp, Messages, and other methods. Results: The reliability of the research instrument measured estimating Cronbach’s alpha statistic that ranged from 0.69 to 0.90, split-half (odd-eve) correlations, ranged from 0.60 to 0.81, and Spearman Brown Prophecy, ranged from 0.71 to 0.93 indicating strong reliability and internal consistency. The multiple regression results indicate that mode explain 16% of variance when all the independent variables entered simultaneously in the model. Further, the E-HRM factors E-Hiring, E-Rewards & Recognition, and E-Performance Management are statistically significant (P<0.05; p<0.001) influencing the personal effectiveness of the information technology employees. There were statistically significant gender association with personal effectiveness of the information technology employees. Conclusions: The study provides the valuable insights into the application of E-Human Resource Management factors like E-Hiring, E-Rewards and Recognition, E-payroll Process and E-Performance Management. The E-HRM will enhance employee productivity, organizational performance and employee personal effectiveness. The organizations will be beneficial on application of E-HRM for employee management.

Rehabilitation Intervention Program about Neck Pain and Functional Disability among Information Technology Employees at Assuit City- Egypt

Background: Neck pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints worldwide. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation intervention program about neck pain and functional disability among information technology employees. Design: A pretest, posttest design was used in this study with total coverage of all complainants from neck pain (n=73). Methods: The period of collecting data was from the mid of April 2021 to mid of December 2021. Four tools were used, tool I: A structured questionnaire that consisted of two parts: 1st part: socio-demographic data and working hours, 2nd part: assessment of knowledge of employees. Tool (II): Neck Pain Questionnaire, tool (III): observational checklist and tool (IV):The educational program has been developed. Results: 68.5% of employees had moderate neck pain & functional disability in pre-test while only 69.9% of them mild pain in follow up test. 87.7% of them had poor knowledge in the pre-test and improved in the post and follow-up tests to 98.6 % and 61.6% respectively. A statistically significant negative correlation existed between total knowledge scores with neck pain and functional scores in pre and follow up test. Moreover, 86.3% of studied employees had poor practice scores about isometric, stretching exercises and correct posture in the pre-test, which improved to 94.5%, 39.7% of them having good practice scores in the post-test and in the follow-up test, respectively. A statistically significant positive correlation at pre, post, and follow-up tests (r = 0.520, 0.527, and 0.339, respectively). Conclusion: The study concluded that the rehabilitation intervention program had a positive effect on knowledge, practices and level of neck pain and functional disability of employees at post and follow-up tests

Diets, Lifestyles and Metabolic Risk Factors among Corporate Information Technology (IT) Employees in South India.

(1) Information Technology (IT) Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), the largest employment sector of India, contributes to rapid economic growth. However, the work of IT employees is sedentary, and the food environments of their worksites expose them to an obesogenic environment. This study aimed to assess their metabolic and lifestyle risk factors. (2) Methods: To examine the health and nutrition status of IT employees, anthropometric, biochemical and clinical assessments were conducted among 183 employees from three IT organizations of varied operational sizes. Their health-, diet- and physical activity-related practices were assessed using a questionnaire. The prevalence of MetS was assessed. Selected biomarker levels were assessed and associated with their self-perceived stress levels. (3) Results: The median age of the employees was 30 years (26-35 years). While 44.02% of employees were overweight, 16.85% of employees were obese. About 3.89% of employees were found to be diabetic, and HDL-C levels were lower than recommended in 64.93% of employees. In all, 29.87% of the study population were considered to have metabolic syndrome since they had metabolic risk scores ≥ 3. Those with metabolic syndrome were significantly older (p = 0.000), and levels of MDA (p = 0.003), homocysteine (p = 0.001), IL-6 (p = 0.017) and IL-4 (p = 0.000) were significantly higher among them. Although the prevalence of MetS was significantly lower among those aged >30 years, the lifestyle risk factors were significantly higher among them. (4) Conclusions: The assessed parameters indicate a high risk of developing NCDs among employees in the IT industry in India. This shows the need for the modification of lifestyle and workplace food and physical activity environments.

Does Workplace Spirituality Foster Employee Ambidexterity? Evidence from IT Employees

Incorporating spirituality into the workplace positively affects employees’ physical, psychological, mental, and spiritual well-being, hence contributing to sustainability. With this background, the objective of this study is to broaden our understanding of workplace spirituality and its association with employee ambidexterity through the theoretical lens of social exchange theory. It also examines the underlying mediational mechanism of employee perception of managerial trustworthiness and the moderating role of psychological distance A total of 384 Information Technology (IT) professionals participated in the study. Data were analyzed using Smart-PLS. It was found that workplace spirituality has a positive association with employee ambidexterity. Further, employee perception of managerial trustworthiness partially mediated the relationship between workplace spirituality and employee ambidexterity. Surprisingly, psychological distance did not moderate the relationship between workplace spirituality and employee perception of managerial trustworthiness. However, psychological distance moderated the relationship between workplace spirituality and employee ambidexterity. This study is an attempt to broaden the frontiers of workplace spirituality research, and it provides critical insights into how workplace spirituality fosters employee ambidexterity via employee perception of managerial trustworthiness. The findings also contribute to the scant research on the moderating role of psychological distance. Although studies have emphasized the need to explore the positive consequences of workplace spirituality, scant attention has been paid to its association with employee ambidexterity. To the best of our knowledge, no prior examination has been done on such a model, making our study unique and novel.

The Relationship between Remote Working and Work-life Balance with Mediating and Moderating Effects of Social Support: An Empirical Study of Information Technology Employees

The Relationship between Remote Working and Work-life Balance with Mediating and Moderating Effects of Social Support: An Empirical Study of Information Technology Employees

Co-creating organizational performance and project success through customer participation, requirement risk and knowledge integration: a multi-study evidence

PurposeTaking a co-creation perspective and integrating knowledge-based and resource-based perspectives, the authors examine the role of customer participation in organizational performance and project success. The authors also investigate the mediating role of knowledge integration and the moderating role of requirement risk for these relationships in uncertain contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe authors undertook two studies. The first study was carried out in 2018 in which the authors drew on survey data from 150 information technology (IT) sector employees and examined the mediating role of knowledge integration in the relationship of customer participation with organizational performance and project success. In the second study undertaken in 2020, the authors drew on data from 92 IT and telecom sector employees and examined the moderating role of requirement risk in the relationship between customer participation and knowledge integration. Study 2 was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic when employees were largely working from home and were more sensitive to risks and uncertainty about the scope and system requirements. Both studies were survey-based, and analysis was carried out using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe authors’ two-study examination indicated that knowledge integration positively mediates the relationship of customer participation with organizational performance and project success during the co-creation process. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that when requirement risks are high, customer participation relationship with knowledge integration is weaker.Originality/valueThe authors show that integrating customer knowledge is critical to project success and organizational performance. By identifying risk uncertainties and environmental contingencies, the authors highlight the constraints of customer participation for knowledge integration, organizational performance and project success. The authors provide some key study findings based on survey data obtained from project teams during two periods (normal and pandemic).