Working from home is a potentially powerful alternative method of work arrangement recently in order to maintain essential business operations in response to pandemic disruptions, thanks to the advancement of technologies that have shifted the traditional working way that requires physical presence to a virtual environment. With the purpose of validating a theoretical model which forecasts the turnover possibility of teleworking employees during an ongoing challenge as COVID-19 airborne disease spread, the present research proposes a new and improved theoretical model by incorporating 1) the Stress – Strain - Outcome model and 2) the relevance between Professional remoteness and Turnover motivation.
The present study employs a quantitative research method with a sample of 252 teleworkers from several countries that are adopting telecommuting in their business practice for at least one month. The findings show in the sample that techno overload, techno invasion and role ambiguity jointly operated in combination caused the strain of teleworkers, which affects their job retention. Interestingly, the present study reveals that professional isolation is no longer relevant to worker’s turnover intentions in the presence of limited job opportunities due to the global economic threats of downturns.
This study renders supporting evidence for a more detailed perception of the telecommuters’ difficulties by showing potentially the nature of various factors that might contribute to technostress and turnover intention. Moreover, it also offers perspectives and potential lessons for managers and organizations to develop strategies to optimize the values of teleworking and improve the rate of job retention.

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