Employee Turnover

356 Pages·1995·6.501 MB·English

by  Peter W. Hom, Rodger W. Griffeth

SOUTH-WESTERN SERIES IN
BP manfRsources|AnaGeMmeENT

Peter W. Hom
Department of Management
Arizona State University
Rodger W. Griffeth
Department of Management and
The W.T. Beebe Institute of
Personnel and Employee Relations
Georgia State University
o
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Copyright © 1995
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Hom, Peter W.
Employee turnover / Peter W. Hom, Rodger W. Griffeth.
p. cm. -- (South-Western series in human resources
management)
Includes index.
ISBN 0-538-80873-X
1. Labor turnover. _ I. Griffeth, Rodger W. __ II. Title.
III. Series.
HF5549.5.T8H65 1994 94-33871
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PREFACE

Katz and Kahn (1968) long observed that the pivotal challenge for
organizations was to motivate their members to produce and participate.
Organizational researchers, who have now adopted this as a guiding prin-
ciple, have written countless articles on employee performance and turnover,
as well as numerous books on their theories about what motivates employees
to perform and how to measure their performance. But there are fewer
books on organizational participation. Our book seeks to correct this imbal-
ance as we attempt to summarize the immense volume of empirical facts and
theories about this significant employee behavior.
Specifically, we update earlier books that dealt with the vast turnover lit-
erature (Mobley, 1982; Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1982; Price, 1977). More
than a decade has elapsed since the last book, although surprising new facts
and insightful theories on turnover have emerged during this time. This
book attempts to review these recent developments and to bring the reader
up to the present.
Apart from review, this book is different from others in the field in sev-
eral respects. First, we provide a meta-analytical review of empirical facts,
which is more rigorous than narrative reviews and more comprehensive than
earlier meta-analysis (cf. Cotton & Tuttle, 1986). Second, we not only system-
atically critique various theories but also propose a theoretical integration
(Chapter 6), whereas other scholarly books usually emphasize a particular
viewpoint. Moreover, this book identifies methods of reducing turnover that
are based on empirical research, unlike many popular books whose prescrip-
tions derive from anecdotal evidence or speculations. We also discuss various
theories that view turnover as symptomatic of an underlying maladaptation.
With the exception of Price and Mueller (1986),books on turnover typically
examine only turnover and do not consider how it relates to other adaptive
responses to work dissatisfaction. Finally, we examine methodological short-
comings of current research and suggest new methods that may overcome
those deficiencies. To our knowledge, no existing turnover book evaluates
methodologies for investigating turnover.
We are grateful to Jerry Ferris and Ken Rowland, who initiated this pro-
ject and patiently awaited the arrival of the book. We are also indebted to Tom
Lee for his exhaustive review of the preliminary manuscript. The final product
benefitted immeasurably from his invaluable suggestions—although we claim
all mistakes for ourselves. Luis Gomez-Mejia deserves our eternal gratitude for
believing in our book project and reviving it after a false start. We also express
our appreciation to Paula Phillips Carson for her diligent efforts on the meta-
analysis and to Margaret Harris and Veronica Wan-Huggins for painstakingly
double-checking book references. We thank Joyce and Angelo Kinicki for their
encouragement and faith in our ability to produce this work. Also without
ill
Jacqui’s and Justin’s patience and understanding, Dad could not have finished
his chapters while entombed in his office. Finally, we credit Chuck Hulin and
Bill Mobley for starting us on our decade-long journey on turnover research
and to Jim Price for keeping us on this path.
Tempe, Arizona
January 1994
For our biological and intellectual parents:
Nguey Kun Wong and Ting Hom
In Memory of Ann Griffeth
Dean and Vivian Griffeth
Charles Hulin, William Mobley, and James Price
CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS TURNOVER AND HOW IS TURNOVER
MEASURED?
Why the Study of Turnover is Essential J
The Plan of this Book 4
Definition and Measurement of Turnover 4
Functional and Dysfunctional Turnover 6
Avoidable and Unavoidable Turnover 8
Adjusting Turnover Correlations 9
CHAPTER 2 THE CONSEQUENCES OF TURNOVER 13
Negative Consequences for the Organization 13
Positive Consequences for the Organization 27
Negative Consequences for the Leaver 30
Positive Consequences for the Leaver 32
Future Directions for Research 33
CHAPTER 3 CAUSES AND CORRELATES OF TURNOVER 35
Meta-analytical Procedure 36
Concluding Remarks 50
CHAPTER 4 THEORIES OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER 51]
March and Simon: Theory of Organization Equilibrium 51
Porter and Steers: Met-Expectation Model 53
Mobley: Turnover Process Model 56
Hom and Griffeth: Revised Intermediate Processes Model 58
Price: Structural Model 60
Mobley, Griffeth, Hand, and Meglino: Expanded Model 63
Muchinsky and Morrow: Multidisciplinary Model 66
Farrell and Rusbult: Investment Model 68
Steers and Mowday: Multi-Route Model 70
Sheridan and Abelson: Cusp Catastrophe Model 75
Hulin, Roznowski, and Hachiya: Labor-Economic Model 78
Lee and Mitchell: Unfolding Model 82
CHAPTER 5 NEW EXPLANATORY CONSTRUCTS IN TURNOVER
WORK 87
Perceived Alternatives to Work 87
Job Performance 9]
Organizational Commitment 94
Job Stress and Burnout 98
The Theory of Reasoned Action 100
Attributions of Performance 103
Career Development 104
CHAPTER 6 INTEGRATION OF EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND
TURNOVER MODELS 107
Job Attitudes > Withdrawal Cognitions 107
Withdrawal Cognitions — Turnover 109
Withdrawal Cognitions > Job Search 109
Expected Utilities of Withdrawal — Job Search 110
Other Empirical Support for Structural Network 111
Determinants of Satisfaction 111
Determinants of Commitment 114
Labor and Market Determinants 118
CHAPTER 7 TURNOVER AND OTHER BEHAVIORS; TURNOVER
AND MALADAPTATION 121
Response Family of Withdrawal Behaviors 121
Turnover and Performance Effectiveness 126
Turnover as One Response to Dissatisfaction 130
CHAPTER 8 METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN TURNOVER
RESEARCH 143
Measurement Problems 143
Confirmatory Factor Analysis 146
Causal Analysis 158
Panel Analysis 170
Meta-Analytical Test 180
Prediction of Timing of Turnover 184
CHAPTER 9 ROBUST METHODS OF CONTROLLING TURNOVER 193
Realistic Job Previews 193
Job Enrichment 203
Workspace Characteristics 203
Socialization Practices 205
Leader-Member Exchange 212
Employee Selection 213
CHAPTER 10 PROMISING METHODS OF TURNOVER REDUCTION 221

Compensation Practices 22]
Demographic Diversity 239
Managing Interrole Conflict 252
CHAPTER 11 FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN TURNOVER RESEARCH 257

Theory Testing 259
Turnover Reduction Methods 26]
Modeling Turnover Consequences 263
Alternative Responses to Dissatisfaction 263
REFERENCES 265

APPENDIX 315
AUTHOR INDEX 323

SUBJECT INDEX 333