nformation Technology (IT) leaders in public higher education are under increased
pressures to leverage innovations in technology to address their institution’s strategic
imperatives. CIOs modify jobs by increasing responsibilities or changing the tasks that IT
workers perform. IT staff who experience job modification are susceptible to lower job
satisfaction and increased turnover intentions. IT leaders in other industries have successfully
used work recognition to improve job satisfaction but there is limited research pertaining to these
conditions among higher education institutions. This study sought to determine the perceptions
and effects of work recognition and job modification on the turnover intentions of IT workers
employed at 71 large, publicly controlled, higher education institutions. The researcher
conducted a quantitative study using structured equation modeling to measure the potential
moderating effects of recognition on job satisfaction, affective commitment, and perceived
organizational support as predictors of turnover intention. The researcher found that work
recognition was effective at moderating the effects of responsibility increase and task
replacement on job satisfaction for IT workers with respect to their preferences of work