Abstract            Volume:13  Issue-11  Year-2025         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Early retirement in the IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) sector has significant implications for organizational productivity, yet it remains insufficiently theorized within strategic human resource management. This study adopts a theoretical lens integrating Human Capital Theory, Role Strain Theory, and the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) Model to conceptualize early retirement as a strategic risk rather than an individual career choice. From a human capital perspective, early retirement accelerates the loss of accumulated tacit knowledge, cognitive expertise, and technology-specific skills that are central to productivity in knowledge-intensive industries. Role strain theory further explains how prolonged exposure to competing job demands—such as rapid technological advancements, long working hours, and continuous performance pressure—can lead to burnout and withdrawal intentions among senior IT professionals. The JD–R model supports this by positing that high job demands coupled with inadequate resources heighten strain, driving early exit decisions. The theoretical model developed in this study proposes that early retirement disrupts organizational learning cycles, weakens knowledge transfer mechanisms, and increases operational vulnerabilities in project-based environments. Additionally, the absence of age-inclusive HR policies, insufficient re-skilling opportunities for older employees, and weak succession planning amplify the strategic risks associated with early retirement. The study argues that mitigating these risks requires reframing early retirement through a strategic HRM perspective, emphasizing capability retention, balanced job design, and resource-enhancing interventions. By positioning early retirement within established theoretical frameworks, this research advances scholarly understanding of workforce ageing and highlights the need for proactive interventions to sustain productivity in the IT and ITES sectors.

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