Job Quality, Affective Commitment and Intention to Migrate: A study of ICT Employees in Malaysia

The paper is based on the concern that the rate of employee turnover in Malaysian ICT sector is very high. Coupled with that the situation of skilled workers migration is quite alarming and calls for policy intervention to arrest the problem. With a focus on ICT sector the study examined the role of job quality as the push factor and affective commitment as the pull factor for employees’ intention to migrate. The sample consisted of 243 ICT employees drawn from a mix of industry. The data were collected with the help of standardised instruments. SEM was used to analyse the data. The results indicated a significant negative relationship between job quality and intention to migrate. Additionally, the relationship between job quality and affective commitment was strong and positive and affective commitment fully mediated the negative relationship between job quality and intention to migrate. Findings have strong policy implications. It lends support to the argument that creating better quality jobs and developing measures that improve employees’ loyalty and commitment should be given serious consideration by industry leaders and the government to reduce the problem of talent migration.