UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON INDIVIDUALS' TURNOVER DECISIONS: A META-ANALYTIC PATH MODEL

Historically, researchers have sought to identify environmental causes of employee turnover. This paradigm has led to the underemphasis of individual differences as being an important cause of individuals' turnover decisions. The results of the meta-analysis show that personality traits do have an impact on individuals' turnover intentions and behaviors. The trait of Emotional Stability best predicted (negatively) employees' intentions to quit, whereas the traits of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness best predicted (negatively) actual turnover decisions. A theoretically developed path model showed important direct effects from personality to intentions to quit and turnover behaviors that were not captured through job satisfaction or job performance. These direct effects indicate that employees who are low on Emotional Stability may intend to quit for reasons other than dissatisfaction with their jobs or not being able to perform their jobs well. The direct effects on turnover suggest that individuals who are low on Agreeableness or high on Openness may engage in unplanned quitting. Personality traits had stronger relationships with outcomes than did non-self-report measures of job complexity/job characteristics.