AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON DEI PRACTICES AND ITSIMPACT ON EMPLOYEE’S STAYING INTENTION WITH EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AS A MEDIATOR IN IT SECTOR

Abstract

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies have become strategically important in the modern IT industry in order to create workplaces that are fair, inclusive, and supportive as well as to increase employee desire to stay with their companies. Effective DEI practices that promote positive employee experiences are essential given the dynamic nature of the IT sector, growing workforce diversity, and employee mobility. This study uses employee engagement as a mediating variable to investigate how DEI practices affect worker’s intention to stay in IT companies in Chennai. The study's main goal is to analyze how DEI practices affect employee engagement and remaining intention, as well as to look at how employee engagement functions as a mediator in this relationship. The study uses descriptive and explanatory methods in a quantitative, cross-sectional research methodology. The target population comprises employees working in IT organizations in Chennai across entry-level, middle-level, managerial and senior managerial positions and various functional departments. A five-point Likert scale, spanning from strongly disagree to strongly agree, was used in a structured questionnaire to gather primary data. 185 valid replies were taken into consideration for the final analysis using a convenience sample technique. Along with demographic information, the questionnaire assessed respondent’s opinions on DEI methods, employee involvement, and employee intention to stay.
DEI practices, which include diversity practices, equity initiatives, and experiences of inclusion and belonging, are the study's independent variable. Employee engagement is considered the mediating variable, while employee’s staying intention is the dependent variable. The regression analysis findings shows that DEI practices explain 54.7 % of various since staying intention among employees,the study finds thethe indirect effect of Diversity Practices on Staying Intentions through Employee Engagement is significant (Indirect Effect = 0.107, Sobel Z = 3.751, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of Equity Initiatives via Employee Engagement on Staying Intentions is not significant (Indirect Effect = 0.046, Sobel Z = 1.778, p = 0.075). Indirect effect of Inclusion & Belonging Experience on Staying Intentions through Employee Engagement is significant (Indirect Effect=0.133, Sobel Z=4.378, p<0.001). Hence, Employee Engagement significantly mediates the relationship between Diversity Practices and Staying Intentions and Inclusion & Belonging Experience and Staying Intentions.