Assessing The Influence of Work-Life Balance on Attrition Intent: The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement among IT Professionals in ‎Chennai

  • Authors

    • Bhavani A Ph. D. Scholar, Department of Business Administration, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, ‎India
    • Dr. Babu Sundararaman C Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Annamalai University, ‎Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
    • Dr. Sridevi G Director, Department of Business Administration, A.V.C. College of Engineering, ‎Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ne7mbk71

    Received date: August 17, 2025

    Accepted date: September 22, 2025

    Published date: September 29, 2025

  • Employee Retention; Psychological Well-Being; Flexible Work Practices; Performance Culture
  • Abstract

    This study investigates how work-life balance (WLB) influences the intention of IT professionals ‎to leave their organizations, with employee engagement examined as a mediating factor. The ‎research is grounded in the context of Chennai’s dynamic IT industry, where long working hours, ‎stress, and role ambiguity have heightened attrition rates. Using a structured questionnaire and a ‎sample of 665 IT professionals, the study employs correlation and regression analyses to explore ‎the relationships among WLB, engagement, and attrition intent. The findings reveal that poor ‎work-life balance significantly increases turnover intent, while higher engagement levels partially ‎mediate this effect. These insights can guide HR practitioners to strengthen retention through ‎targeted engagement strategies and flexible work policies. The technological intensity of the IT ‎sector adds another layer to this dynamic. Agile project cycles, continuous client interactions across ‎time zones, and the constant need to reskill in emerging technologies exacerbate work–life strain ‎and complicate engagement outcomes. These IT-specific demands situate the findings firmly ‎within the applied sciences and highlight the intersection of digital work structures and human ‎capital challenges‎.

  • References

    1. Al-Qudah, M. A., & Falahat, M. (2024). The impact of e-HRM tools on employee engagement: Evidence from digital HR practices. Administrative Sciences, 14(11), 303. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14110303.
    2. Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands–resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115.
    3. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173.
    4. Bhattacharyya, S., & Sharma, R. (2023). AI-based HRM tools and techniques: A systematic review. Procedia Computer Science, 222, 1871–1882.
    5. Bhavani, A., Sundararaman, C. B., & Sridevi, G. (2005). Exploring the influence of employee engagement on attrition intent: A study among IT professionals in Chennai. Degres Journal, 10(7), 279–294.
    6. Christiana, M. B. V., & Rajan, M. J. S. (2024). Technostress and users of emerging technologies in knowledge-based professions: An Indian outlook. International Journal of Electronic Business, 19(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEB.2024.135639.
    7. Gallup. (2020). State of the global workplace report. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace.
    8. Gadolin, C., Holmström, I., & Andersson, A. (2024). Human-centered AI for personalized workload management: A multimodal study. Journal of Intelligent Systems, 33(4), 6918–6935.
    9. Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. https://doi.org/10.5465/256287.
    10. Kumari, S., & Oman, G. (2023). Technostress levels of IT sector employees in the remote working model: A study on Indian IT sector. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 23(8, Ser. 4), 91–95.
    11. Olasehinde, S. A., Awolaja, A. M., Olukorede, B. B., & Adeniyi, O. (2023). Impact of human resource management on enhancing employee performance. Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(2), 45–54.
    12. Pansini, M., Buonomo, I., De Vincenzi, C., Ferrara, B., & Benevene, P. (2023). Positioning technostress in the JD-R model perspective: A systematic literature review. Healthcare, 11(3), 446. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11030446.
    13. Pothuganti, S. K., Ramachandra, G. P., & Devi, R. V. (2025). The impact of technostress on employee engagement and well-being. Human Systems Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01672533251331503.
    14. Prasad, K. D. V., Vaidya, R., & Rani, R. (2023). Remote working and occupational stress: Effects on IT-enabled industry employees in Hyderabad Metro, India. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1069402. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1069402.
    15. Prem, R., Kubicek, B., Tement, S., & Korunka, C. (2017). The bright and dark sides of technology: The role of technological job demands and resources in explaining technostress and performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.049.
    16. Rahman, H., & Singh, T. (2024). Technostress and work exhaustion: Unravelling the mediating role of work-family conflict in post-pandemic remote workers. International Journal of Applied Management Science, 16(3), 261–277. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJAMS.2024.140043.
    17. Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), 600–619. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940610690169.
    18. Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two-sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326.
    19. SHRM Labs. (2023). Employee retention technologies report. Society for Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/content/dam/en/shrm/shrm-labs/documents/222395-SHRMLabs-TechStars-Report-TechnologiesRetention.pdf.
    20. Tarafdar, M., Turel, O., & Pullins, E. (2024). Technostress: A comprehensive literature review on dimensions, impacts, and mitigation. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 100475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100475.
    21. Thakur, P., & Saxena, C. (2025). From technostress to turnover: Examining stress-related drivers of turnover in the Indian IT industry. In M. Madanchian (Ed.), Modern trends and future innovation in human resource management (pp. 105–136). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-6402-4.ch004.
    22. Tiwari, P., & Shrivastava, D. (2013). Strategies and practices for employee retention in IT industry. International Journal of Research in Business Management, 1(1), 11–18.
    23. Wang, H., Ding, H., & Kong, X. (2023). Understanding technostress and employee well-being in digital work: The roles of work exhaustion and workplace knowledge diversity. International Journal of Manpower, 44(2), 334–353. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-08-2021-0480.
  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    A, B., C, D. B. S., & G, D. S. (2025). Assessing The Influence of Work-Life Balance on Attrition Intent: The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement among IT Professionals in ‎Chennai. International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 14(5), 923-935. https://doi.org/10.14419/ne7mbk71