Turnover and organizational performance: A comparative analysis of the effects of voluntary, involuntary, and reduction-in-force turnover.

Data were collected from 31 regional subunits of a national financial services company to examine differential effects of 3 types of turnover (voluntary, involuntary, and reduction-in-force) on measures of organizational subunit performance. Although each form of turnover exhibited adverse effects on subunit performance when examined separately, partial correlation results revealed greater and more pervasive adverse effects for reduction-in-force turnover (i.e., downsizing) in comparison with the effects of voluntary and involuntary turnover. The results confirm the negative effects of downsizing, suggesting the need to move beyond the traditional voluntary-involuntary classification scheme used in turnover research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of age on involuntary and voluntary autobiographical memory.

Research on aging and autobiographical memory has focused almost exclusively on voluntary autobiographical memory. However, in everyday life, autobiographical memories often come to mind spontaneously without deliberate attempt to retrieve anything. In the present study, diary and word-cue methods were used to compare the involuntary and voluntary memories of 44 young and 38 older adults. The results showed that older adults reported fewer involuntary and voluntary memories than did younger adults. Additionally, the life span distribution of involuntary and voluntary memories did not differ in young adults (a clear recency effect) or in older adults (a recency effect and a reminiscence bump). Despite these similarities between involuntary and voluntary memories, there were also important differences in terms of the effects of age on some memory characteristics. Thus, older adults’ voluntary memories were less specific and were recalled more slowly than those of young adults, but there were no reliable age differences in the specificity of involuntary memories. Moreover, older adults rated their involuntary memories as more positive than did young adults, but this positivity effect was not found for voluntary memories. Theoretical implications of these findings for research on autobiographical memory and cognitive aging are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal and motivational antecedents of participation in voluntary employee development activities.

This study investigated factors influencing ongoing participation in employee development activities. A multiple-indicator structural equation model building on the theory of planned behavior and prior employee development literature was tested with a survey across 4 organizations on 2 occasions. The model uses reactions to past participation and past supportiveness of the social and organizational environment as indirect antecedents of participation, filtered through their impact on attitudes and behavioral intentions toward future participation. Learning goal orientation also influenced attitudes toward participation. Whereas personal control over participation and higher levels of voluntariness were negatively related to participation, intentions to participate and availability of opportunities arose as strong predictors of higher participation rates. Many significant hypothesized paths were found, and 85% of the variance in participation was explained by the model variables. Increasing employee awareness of opportunities and managing positive attitudes toward those opportunities are recommended as key factors for increasing participation rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating behavioral antecedents of turnover at three job tenure levels.

A field study was conducted to investigate differences between hourly assembly operators who stayed and hourly assembly operators who voluntarily quit their jobs. A total of 80 stayers and 121 leavers were identified from personnel records and were classified into one of three job tenure groups, 2–5 months, 6–12 months, and more than 12 months. Job performance, attendance measures, and biographical variables were used to predict turnover for each job tenure group. Results indicated poorer performance by leavers with 6–22 months tenure compared with stayers. No differences in performance or attendance were obtained between stayers and leavers with between 2–5 months and those with more than 12-months job tenure. Leavers after 6 and before 12 months demonstrated more absenteeism compared with stayers. Implications for the role of absenteeism and constraints on the performance-retention relation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional exhaustion as a predictor of job performance and voluntary turnover.

Recent research suggests that a better understanding of emotional exhaustion requires the development of new theoretical perspectives. To that end, with the conservation of resources model (COR) as the theoretical framework, the present 1-year longitudinal study was undertaken. Composed of 52 social welfare workers, this research examined the relationship of emotional exhaustion to job satisfaction, voluntary turnover, and job performance. Positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) were used as control variables. Whereas emotional exhaustion was unrelated to job satisfaction, it was associated with both performance and subsequent turnover. In addition, the relationship between emotional exhaustion and performance and also between emotional exhaustion and turnover remained significant above and beyond the effects of PA and NA. Future research directions and implications of the findings are introduced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Level and time effects of recruitment sources on early voluntary turnover.

To better understand the effects of recruitment source on the level and timing of organizational departure, a turnover model incorporating dynamic predictors was examined. A large, longitudinal sample containing both stayers and leavers was analyzed with parametric survival models. Results indicate that the turnover hazard function for individuals recruited through personal recruitment sources was lower early in an employee’s tenure than for individuals recruited through formal sources. Moreover, the peak of the turnover hazard was delayed significantly for such employees. However, the turnover rate differential due to the use of personal recruitment methods clearly diminished as tenure increased. Further, the recruitment source effect on the turnover hazard was partially mediated by job satisfaction. The pattern of results observed expands understanding of the unfolding model of turnover. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A conceptual and empirical analysis of the cognitive ability–voluntary turnover relationship.

Despite much research into cognitive ability as a selection tool and a separate large literature on the causes of voluntary turnover, little theoretical or empirical work connects the two. We propose that voluntary turnover is also a potentially key outcome of cognitive ability. Incorporating ideas from the person–environment fit literature and those regarding push and pull influences on turnover, we posit a theoretical connection between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover that addresses both why and how voluntary turnover is related to cognitive ability. Integrating data from 3 different sources, our empirical analyses support the theoretical perspective that the relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover depends on the cognitive demands of the job. When the cognitive demands of a job are high, our findings support the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover, such that employees of higher and lower cognitive ability are more likely than medium cognitive ability employees to leave voluntarily. With regard to jobs with low cognitive demands, our data are more consistent with a negative linear relationship between cognitive ability and voluntary turnover, such that higher cognitive ability employees are less likely to leave voluntarily. We also examine the role of job satisfaction, finding that job satisfaction is more strongly linked to voluntary turnover in jobs with high cognitive demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamic aspects of voluntary turnover: An integrated approach to curvilinearity in the performance–turnover relationship.

Previous research pertaining to job performance and voluntary turnover has been guided by 2 distinct theoretical perspectives. First, the push–pull model proposes that there is a quadratic or curvilinear relationship existing between these 2 variables. Second, the unfolding model of turnover posits that turnover is a dynamic process and that a downward performance change may increase the likelihood of organizational separation. Drawing on decision theory, we propose and test an integrative framework. This approach incorporates both of these earlier models. Specifically, we argue that individuals are most likely to voluntarily exit when they are below-average performers who are also experiencing a downward performance change. Furthermore, the interaction between this downward change and performance partially accounts for the curvilinear relationship proposed by the push–pull model. Findings from a longitudinal field study supported this integrative theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early mother and infant antecedents of Bayley Scale Performance at 21 months.

Investigated the predictability of performance on the Mental scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) at 21 mo from characteristics of infants and mothers. 25 low-risk mother–infant pairs participated. Mother's level of education, a responsive maternal attitude, and 3-mo smiling and eye contact predicted infant performance on the Mental scale of the BSID. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of two neural network paradigms to the study of voluntary employee turnover.

Two neural network paradigms—multilayer perceptron and learning vector quantization—were used to study voluntary employee turnover with a sample of 577 hospital employees. The objectives of the study were twofold. The 1st was to assess whether neural computing techniques offered greater predictive accuracy than did conventional turnover methodologies. The 2nd was to explore whether computer models of turnover based on neural network technologies offered new insights into turnover processes. When compared with logistic regression analysis, both neural network paradigms provided considerably more accurate predictions of turnover behavior, particularly with respect to the correct classification of leavers. In addition, these neural network paradigms captured nonlinear relationships that are relevant for theory development. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal tempering: An event history analysis of the process of voluntary turnover.

In the present study, the authors examined the importance of time in the voluntary turnover process. The researchers used a representative sample of early-career individuals in the American workforce. Moderating effects of time were found for both job satisfaction and cognitive ability. The relationships of these predictors with turnover decreased as a function of time. The temporal nature of effects inherent in the voluntary turnover process is discussed in detail, and the importance of considering changing effects across time is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 96(6) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2011-20470-001). In the article, the authors published a seven-item measure of Global Job Embeddedness rated on a 5-point agreement scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Critical to job embeddedness theory and measures, this construct is designed to capture both organization and community factors that work together to embed or enmesh people in their current job and organization. Although they used instructions that ensured participants would consider both work and nonwork factors, these instructions were unintentionally omitted from the original published article. These instructions are included in the erratum, along with original items. Researchers are encouraged to use these instructions when using this scale.] 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. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dogmatism and managerial achievement.

Administered a short form of the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale to managers representing 4 organizational levels in an agri-product industry. First-line (n = 44) and lower-middle managers (n = 224) were significantly (p     

Relationship between managerial values and managerial success of Black and White managers.

Recent research has shown a relationship between personal values and the success of managers. The present study attempted to determine if a relationship exists between the managerial success of Black managers and their personal values. 64 Black male and 64 White male managers from a variety of business organizations completed the Personal Values Questionnaire developed in 1967 by G. W. England. The managerial success index was a measure of pay relative to age. For Whites results were similar in direction and magnitude to findings in previous research. For Blacks results were similar in direction but not quite so strong as the previous data collected on White samples. Thus, results of the present study do not refute the basic thesis that personal values can be used in the selection and placement process. Additional research is needed, however, to firmly establish this point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 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)     

The mechanisms of involuntary attention.

We tested 3 mechanisms of involuntary attention: (1) a perceptual enhancement mechanism, (2) a response-decision mechanism, and (3) a serial-search mechanism. Experiment 1 used a response deadline technique to compare the perceptual enhancement and the decision mechanisms and found evidence consistent with the decision mechanism. Experiment 2 used a multiple-targets paradigm to compare the decision and serial-search mechanisms. The results favored the decision mechanism. Experiment 3, which varied the display size and whether distractors were present in the display, found that when locating the target was easy, the results conformed to the decision mechanism. However, when locating the target was difficult, the serial-search mechanism was favored. Thus, there appears to be at least 2 mechanisms of involuntary attention. The serial-search mechanism accounts for involuntary attention when the target is difficult to locate, whereas the decision mechanism accounts for results when the target is easy to locate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lifespace variables and managerial success.

Correlated lifespace measures with the discrepancies between original test battery forecasts (Miller Analogies Test, Nonverbal Reasoning Ability Test, Guilford-Zimmerman Temperment Survey, and Management Judgment Test) and subsequent managerial success on the job. Variables included the manager's perceived task challenge on his entry job (Modified Task Characteristics Questionnaire), his life change between test and criterion measurement (Schedule of Recent Experiences), his personality match with his first supervisor, and the success of his first supervisor. These served in combination for 140 Exxon managers (average age, 31 yrs) to account for an additional 22.7% of the variance in success after 5 to 7 yrs on the job when added to the validity of prediction (.63) by the Exxon Early Identification of Management Program battery of aptitude and personality assessments administered during the 1st 18 mo of employment. The equivalent of a multiple correlation of .79 was attained. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College experiences and managerial performance.

Studied relationships between various college experiences and management potential, as demonstrated in assessment center performance and later promotions, in 2 longitudinal samples of managers (one graduating in the 1950's and one in the 1970's) and for 386 middle-aged (median age 46 yrs) and 380 young (median age 25 yrs) managers in 10 organizations. The 2 longitudinal samples included (1) 274 male college graduates (median age 24 yrs) and 148 males (median age 30 yrs) who did not have college degrees and (2) 344 college graduates (median age 25 yrs), 158 of whom were female and 107 of whom were of minority status. Five types of college characteristics were studied independently and in combination—level of education, grades, quality of undergraduate institution, major field of study, and extracurricular activities. Results varied according to the managerial quality studied, with college major, extracurricular activities, and higher education accounting for most of the variance in management performance. Grades related specifically to intellectual ability and motivation to do quality work, whereas better-quality schools seemed mostly to produce nonconformity. Humanities and social science majors had the best overall performance, with particularly good interpersonal and verbal skills; in contrast, engineers and mathematics and science majors lacked many important mangerial skills. The Master of Business Administration degree was primarily related to administrative and cognitive abilities. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unit-level voluntary turnover rates and customer service quality: Implications of group cohesiveness, newcomer concentration, and size.

Despite substantial growth in the service industry and emerging work on turnover consequences, little research examines how unit-level turnover rates affect essential customer-related outcomes. The authors propose an operational disruption framework to explain why voluntary turnover impairs customers’ service quality perceptions. On the basis of a sample of 75 work units and data from 5,631 employee surveys, 59,602 customer surveys, and organizational records, results indicate that unit-level voluntary turnover rates are negatively related to service quality perceptions. The authors also examine potential boundary conditions related to the disruption framework. Of 3 moderators studied (group cohesiveness, group size, and newcomer concentration), results show that turnover’s negative effects on service quality are more pronounced in larger units and in those with a greater concentration of newcomers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of education to sex, managerial status, and the managerial stereotype.

Investigated the personality traits of achievement orientation, aggression, dominance, and nurturance, as measured by the Personality Research Form, to analyze sex differences when males and females achieve similar job ranks and educational levels. Ss, matched by organization and department, represented 39 firms and included 66 sets of 4 employees each: a male manager, a female manager, a male nonmanager, and a female nonmanager. Results indicate that education is significantly related to each of the 4 personality traits and interacts with sex for dominance and nurturance. Sex differences for these 2 traits practically disappeared when more educated males and females were compared; the more educated members of both sexes approximated the managerial stereotype. There was no interaction between education and managerial status for any of the personality variables. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)