Influence of Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence Towards Intention to Stay By Generation Y Employees in the Information and Communication Technology Sector in Malaysia: the Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support 
Ayshani Weeratunga1, Jugindar Singh Kartar Singh2
1Ayshani Weeratunga, Department of Management, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
2Jugindar Singh Kartar Singh, Department of Management, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on 02 September 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 12 September 2019 | Manuscript Published on 23 September 2019 | PP: 954-961 | Volume-8 Issue-5C, May 2019 | Retrieval Number: E11350585C19/19©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.E1135.0585C19
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The digital industry in Malaysia employs an estimated 355,000 employees and the average attrition rate was 17% in 2017. The Millennials or the Generation Y were born in between 1980 to 1993 that would formulate 75% of the labor force by 2025. However, Gen Y workforce are hard to maintain as they are primarily concerned on temporary job prospects and immediate outcomes. Gen Y employees contribute to greater level of turnover rate and retaining them is a significant challenge for the organizations. This paper presents a review of the intention to stay by Gen Y employees in Malaysia. This study will answer three questions. Firstly, this study will examine the concept of emotional intelligence used to retain Gen Y employees. The next question is to what extend does spiritual intelligence influence Gen Y intention to stay. The last question is whether perceived organizational support (POS) mediates the relationship between the constructs. The study aims to accentuate the key role of emotional and spiritual intelligence towards retaining Gen Y employees. A literature review on relationships between emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence and intention to stay was examined. The examination concluded that higher level of emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence are positive predictors of intention to stay. This study revealed that POS has both direct and indirect relationships between several organizational outcomes. There is a rareness of studies in the background of the role of emotional and spiritual intelligence and perceived organizational support of Gen Y employees. With the anticipated increase of Gen Y employees, this study will establish a better understanding and knowledge about Gen Y and offer them accurate tools to cooperate and manifest the accurate solutions. The findings are expected to present new insights in the manner of how Gen Y employees’ emotional and spiritual intelligence can contribute towards their intention to stay longer.
Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Generation Y, Intention To Stay, Perceived Organizational Support, Spiritual Intelligence.
Scope of the Article: Optical Communication