The Impact of Employee Perception of Work/Life Balance on the Attraction and Retention of Talented Employees. "An Empirical Study on the Agriculture Sector in Egypt"

Abstract

Purpose: This study highlights the importance of work/life balance in attracting and retaining talented employees within the agriculture sector in Egypt. Moreover, it investigates the most recruitment methods used in attracting talented employees within the agriculture sector in Egypt and draw a broad map for agriculture companies working in Egypt concerning attraction and retention tactics for managing talented employees'.

Methodology: A validated and reliable questionnaire consisting of 89 questions is distributed to 287 respondents in agriculture companies all over Egypt. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, Simple regression, Hierarchical regression, and Structured equation model (Path analysis) are conducted to test the research hypothesis.

Findings: The results revealed that there is no significant difference between both sectors concerning employees' perception of work/life balance, employment policies that would make an employee move to another company, employees’ current employment experience, and predicting retention. However, there is a significant difference between both sectors concerning organizational characteristics that attracted an employee to his/her current job and the level of importance of employment characteristics in general. The tested hypothesis end results revealed that there is a weak significant positive relationship between employees’ perception of work/life balance and organizational characteristics that attracted talented employees to their current jobs within the agriculture sector in Egypt. In addition, there is a direct significant effect of employees’ perception of work/ life balance on organizational characteristics that attracted talented employees to their current jobs within the agriculture sector in Egypt. There is a weak significant positive relationship between employees’ perception of work/ life balance and retention of talented employees' to their current jobs within the agriculture sector in Egypt. However, there is no significant effect of employees’ perception of work/ life balance on retention of talented employees' to their current jobs within the agriculture sector in Egypt. There is a moderate significant positive relationship between organizational characteristics which attracted talented employees to their current jobs and retention of talented employees' within the agriculture sector in Egypt in addition to a direct significant effect of organizational characteristics which attracted talented employees to their current jobs on retention of talented employees' within the agriculture sector in Egypt.

Keywords: Talent management, Employee perception of work/life balance, Organizational characteristics that attracted talents to their current job (attraction), and Retention of talented employees.