“Timely” Methods: Examining Turnover Rates in the U.S. Military

Despite a long history of research on organizational turnover, questions still linger about relative contributions of different factors to the probability and timing of turnover. Complicating matters, civilian and military differences can moderate important relationships among the factors. In this study, several event history models for predicting voluntary turnover in the U.S. military were estimated. Turnover predictors included background variables, military satisfaction, organizational commitment, withdrawal intentions, job withdrawal, and comparisons of military and civilian work and lifestyles. Results showed that withdrawal intentions, job withdrawal, organizational commitment, and military tenure consistently predicted voluntary turnover. Inconsistent findings for job satisfaction and comparisons of military and civilian work and lifestyles raise questions as to their roles as predictors of military turnover.     

Internal and External Networking Differentially Predict Turnover Through Job Embeddedness and Job Offers

Although the career benefits associated with professional networking are relatively well established, the repercussions of this highly regarded career management activity for voluntary turnover have rarely been examined. Given the potential costs associated with voluntary turnover, this study sought to clarify the roles of networking behaviors in relation to voluntary turnover by focusing on the distinction between internal and external networking. Based on survey responses of industrial and organizational psychology professionals, we found that internal and external networking behaviors differentially predicted decisions to voluntarily leave employers 2 years later: The likelihood of voluntary turnover was negatively predicted by internal networking and positively predicted by external networking. Furthermore, to shed light on the reasons why employee networking behaviors differentially predicted turnover decisions, this study also examined 4 turnover antecedents (job satisfaction, job embeddedness, perceived employment opportunities, and job offers) as potential mediating mechanisms. Results revealed that the relationships of internal and external networking with voluntary turnover were mediated by job embeddedness and job offers, respectively. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding and managing employee networking and retention.     

The Internal/External Frame of Reference Model Revisited: Incorporating General Cognitive Ability and General Academic Self-Concept

An integrative model of the determinants of overall job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and precursors to voluntary turnover was proposed. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment were proposed to arise from overlapping sets of work environment perceptions. A nonrecursive relationship was hypothesized between commitment and satisfaction. Affect (satisfaction and commitment) was proposed to mediate the effects of work environment perceptions on precursors to voluntary turnover. The model was evaluated using data obtained from 1,870 employees of a U.S. telecommunications firm. Hypotheses relating to determinants of commitment and turnover cognitions were largely supported. An asymmetric reciprocal relation was supported between overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Future research needs discussed include specification of different causal models for different forms of employee turnover.     

FURTHER EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SEARCH AND VOLUNTARY INDIVIDUAL TURNOVER

This study tested the usefulness of a new job search behavior measure to account for voluntary turnover beyond more frequently tested work attitude and withdrawal cognition variables. Using two samples, 339 registered nurses and 234 insurance company employees, three measures of job search were distinguished: preparatory job search behavior, active job search behavior, and general effort job search. Active job search behavior had a stronger relationship to voluntary turnover than preparatory job search behavior or general effort job search, and it accounted for significant additional turnover variance beyond work attitude and withdrawal cognition variables. Stronger results were found when unavoidable leavers were deleted from the turnover subsample.     

Does a corresponding set of variables for explaining voluntary organizational turnover transfer to explaining voluntary occupational turnover?

This study proposed and tested corresponding sets of variables for explaining voluntary organizational versus occupational turnover for a sample of medical technologists. This study is believed to be the first test of the Rhodes and Doering (1983) occupational change model using occupational turnover data. Results showed that corresponding job (occupational) satisfaction and intent to leave organization (occupation) variables were each significant for explaining subsequent organization (occupation) turnover. Job insecurity was found to be a significant correlate for organizational turnover while work exhaustion was found to be a significant correlate for occupational turnover. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Developmental climate: A cross-level analysis of voluntary turnover and job performance

This research investigates the influence of shared perceptions of developmental climate on individual-level perceptions of organizational commitment, engagement, and perceived competence, and whether these attitudes mediate the relationship between developmental climate and both individual voluntary turnover and supervisor-rated job performance. Survey data were collected from 361 intact employee–supervisory mentoring dyads and matched with employee turnover data collected one year later to test the proposed framework using multilevel modeling techniques. As expected, shared perceptions of developmental climate were significantly and positively related to all three individual work attitudes. In addition, both organizational commitment and perceived competence were significant mediators of the positive relationship between shared perceptions of developmental climate and voluntary turnover, as well as shared perceptions of developmental climate and supervisor-rated job performance. By contrast, no significant mediating effects were found for engagement. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.     

Predicting turnover intentions and turnover behavior: A multivariate analysis

This study assesses the relative influence of personal, attitudinal, and behavioral variables on behavioral intentions and voluntary turnover among nonsupervisory plant workers. Results show that personal variables have little direct effect on turnover; rather, their influence on turnover is channeled through their effects on behavioral intentions. Felt stress, organizational commitment, and behavioral intentions are found to be the strongest predictors of voluntary job termination. Weak support is found for absenteeism as a precursor of eventual turnover.     

The Relative Strength of Job Attitudes and Job Embeddedness in Predicting Turnover in a U.S. Military Academy

This longitudinal study explored the relative strength of job satisfaction, components of organizational commitment, dimensions of job embeddedness and person–organization fit as predictors of voluntary turnover at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Using survey data from 643 first- and second-year cadets, we found that job satisfaction, affective commitment, on-the-job embeddedness, and person–organization fit were significantly negatively related to turnover. Based on relative weights analysis, we found the most powerful predictor of cadet turnover was person–organization fit, which has important implications for military leaders.     

Stressful work, psychological job strain, and turnover: a 2-year prospective cohort study of truck drivers

Based on a model that combines existing organizational stress theory and job transition theory, this 2-year longitudinal study examined antecedents and consequences of turnover among Dutch truck drivers. For this purpose, self-reported data on stressful work (job demands and control), psychological strain (need for recovery after work and fatigue), and turnover were obtained from 820 drivers in 1998 and 2000. In agreement with the model, the results showed that strain mediates the influence of stressful work on voluntary turnover. Also in conformity with the model, job movement to any job outside the trucking industry (i.e., interoccupational turnover) resulted in a larger strain reduction as compared to job movement within the trucking industry (intraoccupational turnover). Finally, strain was found to stimulate interoccupational turnover more strongly than it stimulated intraoccupational turnover. These findings provide a thorough validation of existing turnover theory and give new insights into the turnover (decision) process.     

The role of temporal shifts in turnover processes: it's about time

To better understand the process of organizational withdrawal, a turnover model incorporating dynamic predictors measured at 5 distinct points in time was examined by following a large occupationally and organizationally diverse sample over a 2-year period. Results demonstrated that turnover can be predicted by perceived costs of turnover, organizational commitment, and critical events measured soon after entry into the organization. Occupational unemployment rates, job satisfaction, and search for alternative jobs also become significant predictors when measured over time. Critical events predicted turnover in a manner distinct from the operation of attitudes, consistent with the unfolding model (Lee & Mitchell, 1994). The path to turnover was marked by consistently low perceived costs of turnover and satisfaction, decreases in commitment, and increases in job search over time.     

Test of a mediated performance-turnover relationship highlighting the moderating roles of visibility and reward contingency

Despite the importance of understanding the conditions under which high performing employees are more likely or less likely to voluntarily leave an organization, the nature of the relationship between job performance and voluntary turnover has proven to be elusive. A model of the performance-turnover relationship that highlights important moderators and mediators is proposed and tested. Data consisted of organizational performance and turnover records and survey responses for 130 employees of a medical services organization. Results indicate that visibility and reward contingencies moderate performance relationships with alternatives and job satisfaction, respectively, and that performance may influence turnover through multiple mechanisms.     

Development of a global measure of job embeddedness and integration into a traditional model of voluntary turnover

Recent research on job embeddedness has found that both on- and off-the-job forces can act to bind people to their jobs. The present study extended this line of research by examining how job embeddedness may be integrated into a traditional model of voluntary turnover. This study also developed and tested a global, reflective measure of job embeddedness that overcomes important limitations and serves as a companion to the original composite measure. Results of this longitudinal study found that job embeddedness predicted voluntary turnover beyond job attitudes and core variables from traditional models of turnover. Results also found that job embeddedness interacted with job satisfaction to predict voluntary turnover, suggesting that the job embeddedness construct extends beyond the unfolding model of turnover (T. R. Mitchell & T. W. Lee, 2001) it originated from.     

Job Embeddedness in a Culturally Diverse Environment

The demographic composition of the workforce is changing, with an increase in the participation of minorities. Numerous studies center their attention on the inclusion of minorities, but variation in turnover of a culturally diverse workforce has not received much attention. Forecasts indicate that by 2020 Hispanic presence will increase 60% nationwide. Given these trends, it is critical that management scholars examine the impact of Hispanic cultural factors on important organizational outcomes such as voluntary turnover. This paper assesses whether there are significant differences between Hispanics and Caucasians with respect to job embeddedness and voluntary turnover. The findings suggest that job embeddedness is a robust predictor of employee retention across diverse populations. Portions of this research were submitted by Carlos M. Mallol in partial fulfillment of requirements for his doctoral degree. A preliminary version of this article was presented at the 2003 Academy of International Business Conference.     

A Compositional Analysis of the Organizational Climate-Performance Relation: Public Schools as Organizations

The present study examined specific aspects of organizational climate related to job satisfaction, employee turnover, and organizational performance in public elementary schools. Survey data were obtained from school staff and students and from school district archives. Hypotheses tested included: (1) Employee perceptions of organizational climate and job satisfaction, when aggregated to an organizational level, would represent group-level constructs; (2) Employee perceptions of positive organizational climate would be associated with higher levels of job satisfaction and organizational performance and with lower levels of employee turnover; (3) Relations of organizational climate to organizational performance and to employee turnover would be mediated by employee job satisfaction; and (4) Employee perceptions of positive organizational climate and job satisfaction would be associated with less achievement disparity between minority and non-minority students. Study results supported all but one hypothesis. There was no evidence for the mediating effects of job satisfaction on relations of organizational climate to organizational performance and to employee turnover. Results were consistent with the broader organizational literature, which has shown the importance of orderly work environments, collegial relations, and supportive leaders for effectively functioning groups and organizations.     

Antecedents and outcomes of organizational support for development: the critical role of career opportunities

This study examines antecedents and behavioral outcomes of employees' perceptions of organizational support for development. We first propose that employees' past participation in formal developmental activities and experience with developmental relationships positively relate to their perceptions of organizational support for development. We then propose that perceived career opportunity within the organization moderates the relationship between organizational support for development and employee performance and turnover. Using a sample of 264 exempt-level employees and their supervisors, we found that participation in training classes, leader-member exchange, and career mentoring were each positively related to employees' perceptions of organizational support for development. We also found support for the moderator hypotheses. Specifically, development support positively related to job performance, but only when perceived career opportunity within the organization was high. Further, development support was associated with reduced voluntary turnover when perceived career opportunity was high, but it was associated with increased turnover when perceived career opportunity was low. Our study demonstrates that social exchange and career motivation theory work together to explain when and how employees' perceptions of organizational support for development relate to turnover and job performance.     

The Soft Underbelly of System Change: The Role of Leadership and Organizational Climate in Turnover during Statewide Behavioral Health Reform

This study examined leadership, organizational climate, staff turnover intentions, and voluntary turnover during a large-scale statewide behavioral health system reform. The initial data collection occurred nine months after initiation of the reform with a follow-up round of data collected 18 months later. A self-administered structured assessment was completed by 190 participants (administrators, support staff, providers) employed by 14 agencies. Key variables included leadership, organizational climate, turnover intentions, turnover, and reform-related financial stress ("low" versus "high") experienced by the agencies. Analyses revealed that positive leadership was related to a stronger empowering climate in both high and low stress agencies. However, the association between more positive leadership and lower demoralizing climate was evident only in high stress agencies. For both types of agencies empowering climate was negatively associated with turnover intentions, and demoralizing climate was associated with stronger turnover intentions. Turnover intentions were positively associated with voluntary turnover. Results suggest that strong leadership is particularly important in times of system and organizational change and may reduce poor climate associated with turnover intentions and turnover. Leadership and organizational context should be addressed to retain staff during these periods of systemic change.     

MECHANISMS LINKING REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS WITH TURNOVER: A META‐ANALYTIC PATH ANALYSIS

A meta‐analytic path analysis with k = 52 studies and sample size of roughly 17,000 showed that enhanced perceptions of organizational honesty is the primary mechanism by which realistic job previews (RJPs) influence voluntary turnover. This suggests revisions to RJP theory to incorporate social exchange and the way RJPs lead individuals to feel about the organization. Results assessing several new potential moderators of relationships between RJPs and turnover found that the most effective RJP design may be an oral or written RJP delivered posthire and designed to signal organizational honesty. We discuss several key theoretical and practical implications of the results based on a novel signaling theory perspective on RJPs.     

Age and Work-Related Outcomes: The Moderating Effects of Status Characteristics

This study examines the extent to which 2 status characteristics—pay level and part-time vs. full-time employment—influence the effectiveness of age as a predictor of work-related attitudes and behaviors. Using a sample of 157 registered nurses, hierarchical regression was used to determine whether pay level or employment classification (part-time vs. full-time) moderated the relationship between chronological age and the following outcomes associated with the process of voluntary turnover: job satisfaction, organizational commitment, withdrawal cognitions, perceived alternatives, search behavior, and actual turnover behavior. Findings indicate that the effects of age on work attitudes and behaviors are moderated to some extent by both status characteristics. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Person–Organization Fit, Job Choice Decisions, and Organizational Entry

To investigate job seekers’ and new employees’ subjective person–organization (P-O) fit perceptions, we studied 96 active job seekers across three time periods, from their initial job search activity to their intended turnover from the jobs they accepted. Hypotheses were motivated by P-O fit, job choice, and organizational entry research and centered around two questions: What are the determinants of job seekers’ and new employees’ P-O fit perceptions, and how important are P-O fit perceptions in job choice decisions and work attitudes relative to job attributes? Results indicated that job seekers’ P-O fit perceptions are predicted by the congruence between their values and their perceptions of recruiting organizations’ values but not by their demographic similarity with organizational representatives. Results also suggested that P-O fit perceptions predict both job choice intentions and work attitudes, even after controlling for the attractiveness of job attributes. Finally, results suggested that job seekers can manage their future work attitudes by weighing P-O fit in their job choice decisions.     

THE EFFECTS OF REALISTIC PREVIEWS: A STUDY AND DISCUSSION OF THE LITERATURE

The effects of realistic job previews (RJPs) were studied with a sample of 842 candidates for telephone service representative. Two types of preview, a film and job visit, were used. Results showed no significant differences between RJP candidates and control candidates with respect to job acceptance, met expectations, job commitment and turnover. Because the findings were at variance with the conclusions of previous RJP research the data from previous studies were reexamined. Based on pooled data from eleven studies the average effect of RJPs on turnover rate was estimated as six percentage points overall. Neither the type of media used nor the length of time turnover is studied appears to interact with RJP effectiveness. RJPs appear to be more effective with more complex jobs, however. Explanations of RJP effects on turnover have not been consistently supported. Though data are limited, self-selection, met expectations and coping ability do not appear to be impacted by RJPs. There is some evidence that RJPs result in more positive job related attitudes, but the explanation for this is not clear. Difficulties in interpreting job preview research are noted, including insufficient statistical power, differences in organizational roles and the lack of a clear operational definition of realism.