Investigating Employee Turnover

QUESTION

Introduction –Literature Review & Hypothesis (the What) (3-5 pages).
The introduction and literature review section are where you present what has been done before and how this leads to what you want to do. Start by talking about the area you are interested in, why you are interested in it, and what you plan to investigate. Your introduction is a critical component and is designed to enlighten the reader about the topic you are investigating. None of the sections in the Introduction should be written in the first person (no writing I or my statements i.e. “I will be investigating.” Instead write “this research will investigate”).

You need to review 3 peer-reviewed journal articles related to your topic in your introduction. This doesn’t mean simply summarizing each article. Instead, show how all of the articles tie together, how they relate, and how these relations lead to your hypothesis. When discussing your articles, be sure to briefly describe the research methods they used (e.g., participants, study design) and the findings.

At the end of the introduction, clearly state what you are investigating, what your question is and, and what you propose is the answer –the hypothesis. This takes the form of your proposed answer to the question. The reasoning behind it comes from your literature review.
The hypothesis should be:
1. Testable—meaning that your measures and design will give a result one way or the other.
2. Focused and simple—don’t try and answer all things.
3. Meaningful—in that it contributes something new to what we know about the subject.

The introduction should be organized according to the following format and components:
(Section 1) An introduction to your topic, your definition of the psychology construct or topic, and why you as a researcher are interested in researching the topic. You may come up with a construct definition or look one up online or in the dictionary. (1-2 paragraphs)
(Section 2) A review of at least peer reviewed academic article relating to the topic. Use proper APA in-text citations. (3 or more paragraphs).
(Section 3) What you as an investigator hopes to learn and teach others about your research findings and justification as to why your study is important and help people, society etc.… Also include at least 1 hypothesis with predictions on what results you expect to find (ex. Mean difference, lower scores compared to … negative correlation, f-test etc.…), along with your reasoning for your hypothesis (should be based on results from previous research and cited). Also include the alpha level or confidence interval you will use, i.e. alpha = .05. (1-2 paragraphs and more depending on how many hypotheses).

ANSWER

Investigating Employee Turnover

Abstract

Employee turnover is one of the major issues that affect business organizations today. Turnover refers to the act of employees of an organization being replaced with new employees (Mobley, 1982). An existing employee leaves their job post and is replaced with a new recruit or new trainee because of reasons such as retirement, death, or job satisfaction issues. The employee may be terminated by the management, the employee may resign, or get an interagency transfer. All these reasons result in an increase in the employee turnover in a company. Employee turnover affects an organization in a negative way mostly because of the loss of talented employees and the time/resources used up in training new employees after recruitment (Mobley, 1982). It affects the bottom line of the organization, results in decreased employee productivity, decreases the production value of the organization, destabilizes the employee efficacy, and affects the quality of production. This paper details a study on the factors that influence employee turnover.

Investigating Employee Turnover

A high rate of employee turnover results in an organization struggling to maintain the production level and remain afloat (Hom & Griffeth, 1995). It results in increased costs due to the constant recruitment and hiring activities. Besides retirement, death, and employee termination, employees may leave employment or resign due to several reasons. These reasons may include lack of job satisfaction, poor wages, workplace stress, lack of workplace satisfaction, bullying in the workplace, gossip, and poor working conditions. While increased employee turnover has negative effects on the organization, it does not necessarily mean that an organization with a low rate of employee turnover is better compared to another organization with a rate that is high. A low rate of employee turnover mostly goes hand in hand with increased job satisfaction, higher profit margins, an increased degree of efficacy and efficiency, and production stability. In most cases, organizations having a low rate of employee turnover tend to perform better as a result of these benefits. This research aims at investigating the reasons for employee turnover.

A number of researchers have conducted studies on the reasons behind an increased employee turnover rate. Wright and Bonett (2007) investigated the psychological wellness of employees and job satisfaction as indicators of potential employee turnover. The authors collected data from a field study that lasted for two years, involving a number of managers that were employed in a large company in the United States, and used it to determine the link between the psychological well-being of employees, employee job performance, and employee turnover. In this study (Wright & Bonett, 2007), the researchers found the control for the age of employees, ethnicity, gender, and performance at work, the level of satisfaction, and the well-being to be indicators of employee turnover. The authors also reviewed work by previous researchers who had found that job satisfaction was an important predictor of employee turnover, such as Hom and Griffeth (1995). The research by Wright and Bonett (2007) confirmed the findings of Hom and Griffeth (1995) and showed that the general job satisfaction showed greater variance compared to the various facets of job satisfaction, such as satisfaction with coworkers or satisfaction with supervision.

Mobley (1977) also investigated the link that exists between satisfaction with a job and employee turnover. In this study, the author recognizes that the link between the level of job satisfaction and the turnover rate is quite notable and is usually steady, as several researchers had found. The research by Mobley (1977) further investigated the psychology aspect of job satisfaction to improve past research on job satisfaction. It was a study beyond the satisfaction-turnover link. The author applied a heuristic model of the employee withdrawal decision process to identify the intermediate linkages in the turnover-job satisfaction relationship. The decision to leave a job is investigated in this study, with a suggestion that the ‘intention to leave’ is usually the succeeding stage after an employee has undergone dissatisfaction at work (Porter & Steers, 1973). The intention to leave is the step that comes before an employee actually quits the job. Mobley (1977) presented a new way of looking into the connection between job satisfaction and turnover and suggested further research topics into the linkage.

Wittmer, Shepard, and Martin (2014) applied the findings of Mobley (1977) intermediate linkages model to a group of full-time employees. Their study was an illustration of how full-time employees differ in their behavior, attitudes, and the reasons that influence their turnover. They applied the steps that Mobley (1977) laid out on the process that an employee goes through when making a decision to quit a job, and discussed the various variables between job dissatisfaction and the actual turnover, such as the intention to quit and other possible employment opportunities. Research supporting the findings of Mobley (1977) is discussed, and this study contributed to the already conducted research on turnover. Wittmer, Shepard, and Martin (2014) discussed other personal attachments and outside work roles that influence turnover. Their study is important since it helps employers understand what impacts the turnover of different worker groups, thereby helping them come up with effective retention strategies.

Based on the research findings of Mobley (1977) and Wright and Bonett (2007) that a connection exists between the work satisfaction and the rate of turnover, there is a necessity for more research on the various facets of satisfaction at work, or the various factors that contribute to the overall job satisfaction. Through understanding the various factors that contribute to job satisfaction, employers and HR executives will acquire a better understanding of the issues that need to be focused on in the process of lowering the employee turnover rate in organizations. The current research aims at understanding the various factors that contribute to job dissatisfaction, which ultimately is a predictor of turnover. The research will contribute to the study by Mobley (1977) and Wittmer, Shepard, and Martin (2014), and will help in the development of employee retention strategies.

The hypothesis of this research is, H1: While the lack of work satisfaction is the main cause of turnover, different employee groups have different factors that influence their level of job satisfaction. The research by Wittmer, Shepard, and Martin (2014) and Mobley (1977) will be used as references for this study. The significance level to measure the mean difference between the experimental group and the control group will have an alpha level of α = .05. This hypothesis has been developed from the study by Wittmer, Shepard, and Martin (2014) on full-time employees.

References

Hom, P. W., & Griffeth, R. W. (1995). Employee turnover. South-Western Pub.

Mobley, W. H. (1977). Intermediate linkages in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. Journal of applied psychology, 62(2), 237.

Mobley, W. H. (1982). Employee, Turnover: Cause Consequences, and Control. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Inc. Philippines.

Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1973). Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism. Psychological bulletin, 80(2), 151.

Wittmer, J. L., Shepard, A., & Martin, J. E. (2014). An application of Mobley’s intermediate linkages turnover model to a full‐time employee group typology. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 87(4), 806-812.

Wright, T. A., & Bonett, D. G. (2007). Job satisfaction and psychological well-being as nonadditive predictors of workplace turnover. Journal of management, 33(2), 141-160.