Intermediate linkages in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover.

The relationship between job satisfaction and turnover is significant and consistent, but not particularly strong. A more complete understanding of the psychology of the withdrawal decision process requires investigation beyond the replication of the satisfaction–turnover relationship. Toward this end, a heuristic model of the employee withdrawal decision process, which identifies possible intermediate linkages in the satisfaction–turnover relationship, is presented. Previous studies relevant to the hypothesized linkages are cited, and possible avenues of research are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multivariate analysis of the determinants of job turnover.

Developed and tested a multivariate analysis of the turnover process with 654 accountants (mean age 37 yrs). The following variables were measured: demographic variables, tenure, cognitive/affective orientation to current position (including multiple measures of job satisfaction and organizational commitment), perceived job security, intention to search for an alternative position, perceived existence of alternative positions, and intention to change positions. Turnover data were collected 1 yr later, and it was found that 22% of Ss had changed jobs. Results support the existence of significant relationships between the set of independent variables presented in the working model and actual turnover, but not the hypothesis that all variables influence turnover behavior through their impact on intentions to change position. Turnover was significantly influenced by age, tenure, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job security. Turnover behavior was also more strongly related to intentions to search for alternatives than to intentions to change positions. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective and cognitive factors in soldiers' reenlistment decisions.

Tested 3 alternative models of causal relationships between satisfaction—expectancy about the consequences of quitting, expectancy about the consequences of staying, and intention to quit or stay—in the context of approximately 755 soldiers' reenlistment decisions. All 3 models presume that perceptions of the job and organization directly influence both satisfaction and expectancy about consequences of staying and that intention is the most immediate antecedent of actual reenlistment. Affective and cognitive variables in these models were measured by self-report questionnaires. Results of hierarchical multiple regression and path analysis disconfirm 2 of the models but not the 3rd model. The model found to be consistent with the pattern of observed correlations presumes that satisfaction has causal effects on the expectancy variables and that it influences intention only through its effects on expectancies. Thus, beliefs about future affective states may be biased by present affective states. Implications for management strategies are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance as a moderator of the job satisfaction–turnover relationship.

Examined the effects of job satisfaction and rated job performance on voluntary turnover among 295 hospital employees (approximate average age 35 yrs). Measures of job satisfaction were obtained from Ss, independent performance ratings by superiors were obtained from company records, and voluntary turnover data were collected 1 yr after administration of the questionnaire. With the use of subgroup analysis and moderated regression, it was found that employee performance ratings significantly moderate the job satisfaction–turnover relationship. Results suggest that satisfaction level represents a greater influence for low performers than for high performers on the decision to stay in a job. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Countering the Negative Effects of Job Insecurity Through Participative Decision Making: Lessons From the Demand-Control Model.

This study examined the effectiveness of increased organizational participative decision making in attenuating the negative consequences of job insecurity. Data were collected from 807 employees in 6 different companies. Analyses suggest that job insecurity is related to lower coworker, work, and supervisor satisfaction and higher turnover intentions and work withdrawal behaviors. However, employees with greater participative decision-making opportunities reported fewer negative consequences of job insecurity compared with employees with fewer participative decision-making opportunities. Results are interpreted using the demand-control model and suggest that organizations that allow greater employee participative decision making may experience fewer negative side effects from today's rising levels of employee job insecurity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors and outcomes of proactivity in the socialization process.

This 3-wave longitudinal study aimed to extend current understanding of the predictors and outcomes of employee proactivity (involving information seeking, feedback seeking, relationship building, and positive framing) in the socialization process. Two personality variables, extraversion and openness to experience, were associated with higher levels of proactive socialization behavior. Of the proactive behaviors studied, feedback seeking and relationship building were highlighted in their importance because of their various relationships with the work-related outcomes assessed in this study (e.g., social integration, role clarity, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and actual turnover). The results also highlighted the importance of 2 control variables (opportunity to interact with others on the job and skill level of the new job) in the experience of socialization into a new job. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative examination of three approaches to the prediction of turnover.

Compared 3 approaches to the prediction of turnover in a sample of National Guard members. Assessments of components of M. Fishbein's (1967) behavioral intention model, job satisfaction, and L. Porter's (1974) organizational commitment model, combining elements of both satisfaction and intention, were obtained. All 3 models predicted enlistment behaviors during the 6 mo following attitude assessments with a high degree of accuracy. Based on a sample of 252 Guard members with an enlistment base rate of 50%, Fishbein's behavioral intention model had a multiple correlation of .65, job satisfaction had a multiple correlation of .55, and organizational commitment had a correlation of .58 with actual enlistment behavior. Implications for organizational retention and attitude–behavior relations are discussed. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voluntary turnover and alternative job opportunities.

Models of voluntary turnover specify important roles for both general labor-market conditions and labor-market perceptions. Although there is consistent support for the role of general labor-market conditions, evidence on perceptions is mixed. In a national sample of young adults, both factors were related to voluntary turnover. However, the two constructs were not closely linked, possibly because labor-market perceptions are based on incomplete information. Thus, for example, despite poor general labor-market conditions, an employee may perceive ease of movement to be high, which contributes to the employee's intention to quit. Yet, the employee may not actually quit because the unfavorable general labor-market conditions act to limit the number of alternative job openings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding smoking cessation: The role of smokers' quit history.

Many studies have found smokers' quit history to correlate with quitting smoking, but little is known about the psychological processes explaining this relationship. This study uses the integrative model of behavioral prediction to examine how quit history affects quit intention. Data from 3,428 Dutch smokers demonstrate that quit history affects (a) beliefs about quitting and (b) the degree to which self-efficacy predicts quit intention. It seems that a relatively unsuccessful history of prior quit attempts reduces self-efficacy over quitting and strengthens the relationship of self-efficacy with the intention to quit. The results are used to call for more process-oriented research in order to advance our understanding of the relationship between quit history and quit intention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining the job search–turnover relationship: The role of embeddedness, job satisfaction, and available alternatives.

This study examined factors that may help explain under what conditions employee job search effort may most strongly (or weakly) predict subsequent turnover. As predicted, the job search–turnover relationship was stronger when employees had lower levels of job embeddedness and job satisfaction and higher levels of available alternatives. These findings suggest that there may be a number of factors interacting to influence employees' turnover decisions, indicating greater complexity to the process than described in prominent sequential turnover models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review and conceptual analysis of the employee turnover process.

Research on employee turnover since L. W. Porter and R. M. Steers's (see record 1974-04029-001) analysis of the literature reveals that age, tenure, overall satisfaction, job content, intentions to remain on the job, and commitment are consistently and negatively related to turnover. Generally, however, less than 20% of the variance in turnover is explained. Lack of a clear conceptual model, failure to consider available job alternatives, insufficient multivariate research, and infrequent longitudinal studies are identified as factors precluding a better understanding of the psychology of the employee turnover process. A conceptual model is presented that suggests a need to distinguish between satisfaction (present oriented) and attraction/expected utility (future oriented) for both the present role and alternative roles, a need to consider nonwork values and nonwork consequences of turnover behavior as well as contractual constraints, and a potential mechanism for integrating aggregate-level research findings into an individual-level model of the turnover process. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting sales turnover from pay satisfaction and expectation.

Examined the effects of pay satisfaction (PS) and pay expectation (PE), the perceived probability of receiving more satisfying pay in another job, on withdrawal cognition (WC) and turnover. Questionnaires completed by 89 sales representatives measured affective and cognitive variables related to turnover decisions. PS and PE were correlated with WC, but PE did not contribute explanatory variance after PS. PS did, however, explain variance in WC beyond that explained by age or tenure, general (nonpay) satisfaction, amount of pay received, and PE. Only WC and PS were significantly correlated with actual turnover. After WC, no other variable explained additional turnover variance. There was no evidence of an interaction effect of PS and PE on WC or turnover. Results suggest that effects of pay on turnover are mediated primarily by PS and intentions to quit. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effects of Sexual Harassment on Turnover in the Military: Time-Dependent Modeling.

Sexual harassment has consistently negative consequences for working women, including changes in job attitudes (e.g., lower satisfaction) and behaviors (e.g., increased work withdrawal). Cross-sectional evidence suggests that harassment influences turnover intentions. However, few studies have used actual turnover; rather, they rely on proxies. With a sample of 11,521 military servicewomen with turnover data spanning approximately 4 years, the authors used the appropriate method for longitudinal turnover data--Cox's regression--to investigate the impact of harassment on actual turnover. Experiences of harassment led to increased turnover, even after controlling for job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and marital status. Among officers, harassment also affected turnover over and above rank. Given turnover's relevance to organizational bottom lines, these findings have important implications not only for individual women but also for organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unemployment, job satisfaction, and employee turnover: A meta-analytic test of the Muchinsky model.

We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the relation between satisfaction–turnover correlations across studies and unemployment rates at the time those studies were conducted. On the basis of theoretical work by Muchinsky and Morrow (1980), we hypothesized that low relations would be found in studies conducted during times of high unemployment and limited employment opportunity, and high relations would be found in studies conducted during times of low unemployment and expanded opportunity. Results supported the hypothesis; correlations were found that ranged from –.18 to –.52 between unemployment rates and the magnitude of satisfaction–turnover relations across studies. A similar analysis was conducted for the relation between intention to quit and turnover. The correlations between the intention–turnover relation and unemployment were similar in magnitude to the corresponding satisfaction correlations, indicating that the behavioral-intention–turnover relation is also moderated by economic alternatives. Severe methodological problems with a similar study, which indicated the opposite results (Shikiar & Freudenberg, 1982), are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of smoking self-identity and quitting self-identity on attempts to quit smoking.

Objective: To examine the effect of two types of self-identity on attempts to quit smoking: self-identity in terms of smoking and self-identity in terms of quitting. Design: A prospective survey among an initial sample of 3,411 smokers. Smoking history variables and psychosocial variables from the theory of planned behavior are also measured. Main Outcome Measures: Intention to quit smoking and smoking cessation attempts 4 months later. Results: Both smoking identity and quitting identity matter, but they appear to play different roles in explaining intention to quit and in predicting actual attempts to quit. Quitting identity is particularly important for intention to quit, whereas both quitting identity and smoking identity are important for actually trying to quit. Recent attempts to quit slightly attenuate the negative effect of smoking identity on attempts to quit. Conclusion: A broader interpretation of self-identity in terms of both current and aspired behavior offers a better understanding of when people might change health-relevant behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does affective disposition moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and voluntary turnover?

J. Weitz (1952) argued that job dissatisfaction would be more predictive of turnover if it was considered in light of an individual's predisposition to be satisfied with everyday life events. In the present study it was hypothesized that affective disposition moderates the relationship between job satisfaction and voluntary turnover. With data collected from a sample of nurses, support was indicated for the hypothesis. The more positive the disposition of the individual, the stronger the relationship that was observed between job dissatisfaction and turnover. Furthermore, individuals dissatisfied with their jobs but positively disposed to life in general were the individuals most likely to quit. Implications of the results for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)