Work Atmosphere and Career Development: Impact on Employee Engagement and Retention in Gen Z Workforce in Thailand
Keywords:
Employer brand, Work atmosphere, Career Development, Employee engagement, Employee RetentionAbstract
Existing studies on employer branding have mostly focused on attracting talents though a strategic purpose of employer branding is to attract and retain talents. To retain employees, offering a unique employer brand experience is vital. Employee engagement is proposed to be an underlying mechanism explaining how an employer brand experience impacts employee retention. Whilst generation differences are acknowledged, most studies to date have not yet focused on a particular generation, such as generation Z, which is becoming important workforce in the next five years. Grounded on the social exchange theory, this study aims to identify the mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between employer brand experience, particularly work atmosphere and career development, and employee retention from the perspective of Generation Z workforce in Thailand. An online survey was carried out with Gen Z, who are employed and reside in Thailand. In total, 163 questionnaires were returned and deemed usable. The sample size follows the sample-to-item ratio method. This study has identified a full mediation of employee engagement on the link between work atmosphere and employee retention, and a partial mediation on the link between career development and employee retention. For generation Z, career development opportunities attract them to retain with the organization more effectively than
work atmosphere. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
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