Sometimes pursuits don't pan out: Anticipated destinations and other caveats: Comment on Hom, Mitchell, Lee, and Griffeth (2012)

Hom, Mitchell, Lee, and Griffeth (2012) presented an extensive review of employee turnover research, reconceptualized the turnover criterion to include multiple destinations, and proposed to expand the predictor domain. They illuminated the multiple destinations employees pursue following turnover. By crossing desire to remain and volitional control dimensions, Hom et al. defined and described 4 withdrawal states (or predeparture mind-sets). This commentary begins by introducing the issue that people do not know precisely where they will turn over to until they have actually gone. This suggests that researchers should consider anticipated destinations when conducting research on withdrawal states. We note the limitations of measuring withdrawal states as taxonomic categories; instead, we advocate for measuring the underlying continuous dimensions of desire and control or the weight associated with the pressures to leave or stay. Finally, we highlight some temporal considerations, as withdrawal states are temporary and there is much to be learned from studying changes in such states. We conclude with some directions for future turnover research based on Hom et al.'s contribution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).