Leadership Styles and Flexible Work Arrangements as Determinants of Turnover Intention for IT Professionals

Abstract

An increasing employee turnover rate remains a substantial concern to business leaders. The emergence of COVID-19 led to a sharp rise in employee resignations, dubbed the Great Resignation in 2021. Organizations scrambled and implemented flexible work arrangements (FWA) to curtail the spread of the pandemic. This study used a quantitative correlational approach in examining the relationship between leadership styles, FWA, and turnover intention of IT professionals in the US. The theoretical foundation for the study includes the path-goal leadership theory and the flexible firm model. An online survey collected participants' responses across all US regions. The researcher analyzed valid responses from a sample of 204 participants using SPSS. The study reveals that 89 percent of IT professionals in the US use one form of flexible work arrangement or another. The results indicate a significant negative relationship between path-goal leadership styles at the individual level and collectively with turnover intentions. The result did not establish a significant relationship between FWA and turnover intentions. However, FWA options, including flex-time schedule and compressed workweek, significantly and positively correlated with turnover intentions, while telecommuting did not significantly correlate with turnover intentions. This study implies that business leaders' leadership styles and FWA strategies can influence their IT workforce turnover. Business leaders should endeavor to develop and implement a mix of leadership styles and FWA strategies suitable to attract and retain a talented IT workforce in their respective organizations.