An investigation of the correlation of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived job opportunity, organizational communications, job search behavior, and the intent to turnover in IT professionals

The continued demand for information technology and the shortage of IT professionals prompt businesses that depend upon information systems to seek to attract, hire, and retain the necessary IT professionals. As the IT workforce ages and the experienced Baby Boomers leave, Generation Xers step in to replace them. The new face of the workforce brings with it different perceptions of organizational commitment and job satisfaction and the role of organizational communications in retaining the new workers. Baby Boomers were less prone to hop from job to job just for bigger compensation packages and appeared to have better employer loyalty. Generation Xers, however, saw some of their organizationally loyal parents lose their jobs as companies began to see the workers as consumables to be used and discarded. This study explored the generational differences between Baby Boomer and Generation Xers and their perceptions of some traditionally important employment factors, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational communications, job opportunities in the environment, job search behavior, and their intent to stay with an organization. Baby Boomers were probably less open about their dissatisfaction with their work and hid their job search behavior while Generation Xers are less secretive and businesses are more aware that their workers seem to always searching for other opportunities. However, the study showed no evidence for a significant generational difference in the way Baby Boomers and Generation Xers perceived these factors. A strong correlation between organizational commitment, job search behavior, and intent to stay or leave an organization was found. It is believed that the economic environment influenced the perceptions of both generations.