Purpose: Although extensive studies on work-life balance and employee retention relationship have been carried out in various contexts, factors that may influence this relationship are unclear. Hence, this study was conducted to examine the moderating effect of home mortgage in the relationship between work-life balance and employee retention. Design/methodology/approach: The data was collected through questionnaires among youth workers who work in Kuala Lumpur. The samples were selected by nonprobability sampling method, which is the convenience sampling technique. The statistical method used was SPSS software, with hypothesis testing using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Findings: Result of this research shows that home mortgage moderates the relationship between work-life balance and employee retention. Research limitations/implications: Practical implications: This research is expected to be able to give insights to organizations to develop programs or policies to retain their current workforce, particularly the youth generation. Originality/value: This study improves the existing literature by providing empirical evidence that home mortgages can strengthen the relationship between work-life balance and employee retention.