Social Support, Employee Engagement, and Turnover Intention of Hybrid Working Leaders in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Retaining leaders in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is a challenge, and leadership attrition can negatively impact a company. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid work arrangements are used to retain leaders in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, yet challenges exist with social support and employee engagement within hybrid work. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationships, if any, between social support, employee engagement, and turnover intentions among hybrid working leaders in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The job demands-resources model and the social exchange theory provided the study’s foundation. The study sample consisted of 245 leaders in middle-management and higher job levels who were currently working hybrid in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. Three validated survey instruments were used for data collection: (a) co-worker, supervisory, and peer support measure, (b) Utrecht work engagement scale-9, and (c) turnover intentions measure. The study results indicated a statistically weak, positive relationship between coworker support and turnover intention (rs(243) =.19, p = .003). A positive statistical relationship was also found between supervisor support, coworker support, and employee engagement among leaders working hybrid, where supervisor support had the strongest correlation (p < .001). The study findings indicate that coworker support can reduce leader turnover intentions, and predictors of employee engagement are supervisor and coworker support. The implications for positive social change include pharmaceutical organizations' potential to understand better the factors and job resources needed to retain leaders and align changed personal and societal values with organizational job demands.