Impact of Organizational and Supervisory Support Perceptions on the Turnover Intentions of Working Mothers-to-Be: A Study of the Indian IT Sector

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to examine the various factors that influence turnover intentions of working women at the threshold of motherhood. The impact and interrelationships of variables like organisational and supervisory support perceptions, flexible-work-options, work-family conflict, job and family satisfaction, and their effect on turnover intentions are examined. A questionnaire survey of 203 working women of three categories-women undergoing infertility treatment, pregnant women, and new mothers of the Indian IT sector-was conducted and hypotheses tested through structural equation modelling. Results validated the model developed and confirmed the causal relationships whereby employees working in family-supportive work environments experienced lower levels of work-family conflict, and reduced work-family conflict thereby led to greater job and family satisfaction followed by lesser turnover intentions. The study reiterates the need for organisations to offer specific policies that allow working-women to continue their careers as they go through motherhood.