Rethinking Talent Management Strategies for Generation Z Employees in the Era of Digital Work Culture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/dijemss.v7i6.7061Keywords:
Digital Work Culture, Employee Engagement, Employee Retention, Generation Z Employees, Talent Management StrategiesAbstract
The rapid development of digital work culture has transformed organizational approaches to managing human resources, particularly among Generation Z employees who possess distinct expectations regarding flexibility, technological integration, career development, and workplace engagement. This study aims to examine the influence of talent management strategies on employee engagement and employee retention among Generation Z employees in digital work environments. A quantitative explanatory approach was employed using a survey of 180 Generation Z employees working in digital-based organizations in the Greater Jakarta area. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling, and data were collected using structured questionnaires. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The findings indicate that talent management strategies significantly and positively affect employee engagement and employee retention. Employee engagement also serves as a partial mediating variable in the relationship between talent management strategies and employee retention. These results suggest that organizations need to redesign conventional talent management practices by adopting more flexible, technology-oriented, and employee-centered approaches that align with the characteristics of Generation Z. This study contributes to the development of human resource management literature and provides practical insights for organizations seeking to attract, engage, and retain Generation Z talent in the era of digital work culture.
References
Achmad, L. I., Noermijati, N., Rofiaty, R., & Irawanto, D. W. (2023). Job satisfaction and employee engagement as mediators of the relationship between talent development and intention to stay in generation Z workers. International Journal of Professional Business Review: Int. J. Prof. Bus. Rev., 8(1), 6.
Adhiati, C. S., Palupiningtyas, D., & Samtono, S. (2025). Generation Z Work-life Preferences: Organizational, Social, and Arrangement Effects. Annals of Human Resource Management Research, 5(3), 787–799.
Bahar, A. K. M. M., Islam, M. A., Hamzah, A., Islam, S. N., & Reaz, M. D. (2022). The efficacy of work-life balance for young employee retention: a validated retention model for small private industries. International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, 12(3), 367–394.
Dawwas, M. I. (2022). Employee perception of talent management practices and employee engagement: a multiple mediator model. Specialusis Ugdymas, 1(43), 2105–2134.
Fangni, L. (2025). Studying the impact of emotion-AI in cross-cultural communication on the effectiveness of global media. Frontiers in Computer Science, 7, 1565869.
Fawehinmi, O., Yusliza, M. Y., Tanveer, M. I., & Abdullahi, M. S. (2024). Influence of green human resource management on employee green behavior: the sequential mediating effect of perceived behavioral control and attitude toward corporate environmental policy. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(3), 2514–2536.
Gupta, N. R., Chauhan, N., & Singh, R. (2025). Why Gen Z stays and leaves: Role of workplace flexibility, purpose-driven roles, and digital engagement tools on job retention. International Journal of Economic Perspectives.
Jacques, D. (2025). Understanding the Needs and Motivations of Generation Z in the Virtual Work Environment: A Quantitative Approach. National University.
Jena, L., & Nayak, U. (2024). Organizational career development and retention of millennial employees: the role of job engagement and organizational engagement. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 16(4), 778–796.
Jin, C., Li, B., Jansen, S. J. T., Boumeester, H. J. F. M., & Boelhouwer, P. J. (2025). Young Talents’ Settlement Decisions in China’s Metropolises: An Integrated Prospect Theory Framework. Population, Space and Place, 31(7), e70099.
Khan, M. M. (2024). Optimizing web surveys in research: methodological considerations and validity aspects. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, 11(4), 75–105.
Kulkarni, V., & Rai, N. (2023). Generation Z talent management in organisations: An HR Perspective. Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences, 10(1), 1389–1396.
Lee, S. H., Chong, C. W., & Ojo, A. O. (2024). Influence of workplace flexibility on employee engagement among young generation. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2309705.
Manelkar, K. A., Iyer, R., Gupta, K., & Sampat, B. (2023). A relationship between perceived investment in temporary employee development and organizational performance: an empirical study. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 10(2), 265–292.
Mazzetti, G., Robledo, E., Vignoli, M., Topa, G., Guglielmi, D., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2023). Work engagement: A meta-analysis using the job demands-resources model. Psychological Reports, 126(3), 1069–1107.
Nurlina, N. (2022). Examining linkage between transactional leadership, organizational culture, commitment and compensation on work satisfaction and performance. Golden Ratio of Human Resource Management, 2(2), 108–122.
Plugge, A., & Nikou, S. (2024). Quantitative research. In Digitalisation of Global Business Services: Orchestrating the Enterprise Ecosystem (pp. 85–102). Springer.
Rahman, M. M. (2023). Sample size determination for survey research and non-probability sampling techniques: A review and set of recommendations. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, 11(1), 42–62.
Rajâa, O., & Mekkaoui, A. (2025). Revealing the impact of social exchange theory on financial performance: a systematic review of the mediating role of human resource performance. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), 2475983.
Shahzad, M. F., Martins, J. M., Rita, J., Xu, S., & Mushtaq, H. M. (2024). Assessing the impact of strategic HR practices on talent retention through job satisfaction and work engagement: Moderating role of psychological empowerment. Sage Open, 14(3), 21582440241281836.
Sholekha, D. N., & Esthi, R. B. (2025). The Role of Work-Life Balance, Work Flexibility, and Career Development in Increasing Job Satisfaction of Generation Z Employees. International Journal of Economics and Management Research, 4(3), 181–193.
Spaeth, K., & Björnbäck, W. (2023). Talent Retention: Retaining Young Employees in a Large and Established Organization with an Aging Workforce-A case study within Volvo Group Digital & IT.
Teodorovicz, T., Lazzarini, S., Cabral, S., & McGahan, A. M. (2024). Investing in general human capital as a relational strategy: Evidence on flexible arrangements with contract workers. Strategic Management Journal, 45(5), 902–938.
Wei, W., & Fu, X. (2026). Building High Involvement Work Systems in the Digital Era: Employee Experience‐Oriented Digital HRM and Employee Involvement. Human Resource Management.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ria Estiana, Mohamad Kusnaeni, Aryana Satrya
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish their manuscripts in this journal agree to the following conditions:
- The copyright on each article belongs to the author(s).
- The author acknowledges that the Dinasti International Journal of Education Management and Social Science (DIJEMSS) has the right to be the first to publish with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors can submit articles separately, arrange for the non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal into other versions (e.g., sent to the author's institutional repository, publication into books, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time in the Dinasti International Journal of Education Management and Social Science (DIJEMSS).
