Abstract

Retaining employees is a challenge in the construction industry. The purpose of this study is to understand how employees’ career outlook affects their turnover intention in the construction industry as it can have a significant impact on long-term construction project management. Using the time-lagged two-wave data collected from construction industry employees in Lahore, Pakistan, during Covid-19, we tested the impact of negative career shocks caused by unexpected events and human factors on employees’ intention to stay or leave through the underlying mechanism of career satisfaction. We also tested the moderating role of career adaptability to buffer the negative effects of career shocks on career satisfaction. The results revealed that career satisfaction mediates the relationship between career shocks and turnover intention. A slope analysis disclosed the moderating role of career adaptability, illustrating that an employee’s career satisfaction would be enhanced with a higher level of adaptability toward career shocks. We discussed both theoretical and practical implications for construction employees’ career outlook specifically and managing employee turnover for the construction industry broadly.