Rethinking organizational strategies and policies for employee retention in the wake of the migration crisis

Abstract

Migration opportunities are perceived as an incentive for many (un)satisfied employees to leave their workplace. Remaining job seekers enjoy more employment opportunities and greater bargaining power for better working conditions, which may ultimately lead to employee satisfaction and greater work autonomy. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of work overload and autonomy on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intent among employees in selected industrial sectors in the wake of migration. The job demands-resource (JD-R) model is used to examine the relationship between work overload, autonomy, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intent. The study uses a cross-sectional quantitative approach with one hundred and fifty respondents from different industries. The findings reveal a negative effect of work overload and a positive impact of autonomy on job satisfaction. Results indicate that job satisfaction negatively affects turnover intent and has a positive effect on organizational commitment. Considering the increasing level of migration which serves as an additional incentive to leave organizations, the study suggests that employers should consider multiple strategies centred on the increase of employee satisfaction, reduction of work overload, and increment of autonomy.