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Journal ArticleDOI

How can managers reduce employee intention to quit

01 Jan 2004-Journal of Managerial Psychology (Emerald Group Publishing Limited)-Vol. 19, Iss: 2, pp 170-187
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the variables that may be predictive of intention to leave a job, and tested a model that includes mediating variables such as emotional support from supervisors and self-esteem.
Abstract: This paper reports on an investigation of the variables that may be predictive of intentions to leave a job, and tests a model that includes mediating variables. A total of 173 retail salespeople completed questionnaires measuring commitment to the organization for which they worked, job satisfaction, stress, supervisor support, locus of control, self‐esteem, the perceived stressors in the job and their intention to quit. Path analysis was used to test the relationships hypothesized in the model. The majority of hypotheses were supported, with the variables included accounting for 52 per cent of the variance in intention to quit. Emotional support from supervisors and self‐esteem mediated the impact of stressors on stress reactions, job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and intention to quit. It is suggested that to ameliorate intention to quit and in turn reduce turnover, managers need to actively monitor workloads, and the relationships between supervisors and subordinates in order to reduce and manage stress. Managers also need to monitor both the extrinsic and intrinsic sources of job satisfaction available to employees. These activities could assist in maintaining and increasing job satisfaction and commitment to the organization.

Summary (2 min read)

Jump to: [Participants][Measures][Procedure][Results][Structural model][Mediational effects][Discussion] and [Conclusion]

Participants

  • Education levels varied from completing some time at high school to completing a degree.
  • In terms of years of service, 11 participants had worked at the store for less than one year, 33 for one to three years, 60 for four to six years, 27 for seven to ten years, and 42 for more than ten years.

Measures

  • A questionnaire adapted from the comprehensive workplace scale developed by Tate et al. (1997) for their tri-nation study was used in this study .
  • The factors assessed were stressors, job stress, job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, locus of control, self-esteem, support offered by supervisors and intention to quit.
  • Items were answered on a five-point Likert scale, from agree to disagree.

Procedure

  • Participants were provided with a plain language statement outlining the objectives of the study, the questionnaire and an invitation to participate.
  • These packages were distributed to staff through their managers/supervisors.
  • Each package included a reply-paid envelope to enable participants to return the questionnaire directly to the researchers.
  • The response rate from the 200 questionnaires distributed was 86.5 per cent.

Results

  • The data were analyzed on an IBM/PC using SPSS/PC for Windows (Version 10) and AMOS (Version 4) using Anderson and Gerbing's (1988) recommended two-stage approach to structural equation modeling (SEM) where the first stage represents the confirmatory measurement model and the second involves testing the structural model.
  • All factors except for the two-item intention to quit factor were entered into the measurement model and allowed to correlate.
  • The correlations, means, standard deviations, and Cronbach's alpha for each variable are presented in Table I .

Structural model

  • The hypothesized model presented in Figure 1 was tested using SEM.
  • The data provided good support for the hypothesized model (see Table II ) and the χ 2 difference test indicated a significant improvement in fit between the independence and the hypothesized models, χ 2 (20, n=173), 282.50, p=0.000.
  • The locus of control factor failed to contribute to any other endogenous variable in the model, and for parsimony, the authors removed it and re-ran the analysis (see Table II , model 2).
  • Figure 2 represents the final model with the standardized path coefficients.
  • As hypothesized, stressors exerted a direct impact on feelings of stress and a negative impact upon perceptions of supervisor support, and job satisfaction.

Mediational effects

  • While the majority of hypothesized direct effects were significant, there were also important indirect effects that contributed to the criterion variables [1] .
  • As the focus of this study was on intention to quit, only total effects in relation to that variable are presented (Table III ).
  • This was not supported in the model.
  • There were only indirect effects present in the final model through the other variables.

Discussion

  • The impact of job stressors on the dispositional and job engagement variables included in the current model accounted for 52 per cent of the variance in employees' intention to quit.
  • Feelings of stress (e.g. feeling emotionally drained; tense) not only contributed to a reduced sense of job satisfaction, but also was the variable with the next highest contribution to intention to quit (total effect β=0.36).
  • While the ques ons related to perceived support were highly homogeneous and attempted to match the support-provider (that is, the supervisor) to the situation (that is, the workplace), they may not have provided the best match.
  • As proposed by Igbaria and Greenhaus (1992) , intentions to quit may be the best indicator of quitting behaviour, and unless longitudinal studies are undertaken, the degree to which stated quitting intentions are acted on cannot be assessed.
  • Finally, there may be other factors that "pull" individuals away from a job.

Conclusion

  • Intention to quit is largely influenced by job dissatisfaction, lack of commitment to the organization and feelings of stress, which in the current model are influenced by job stressors.
  • For managers who are concerned about the impact intention to quit and possible turnover, these variables are factors over which they may have some control.
  • Supervisor support is a similarly influential mediator within the model and can reduce the impact of stressors on psychological states and intentions to quit.
  • This in turn may reduce intention to quit, and subsequent turnover, thereby saving organizations the considerable financial cost and effort involved in the recruitment, induction and training of replacement staff.
  • The story does not end there, and other variables, described by us as the push-pull factors, need to be examined in longitudinal studies.

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Deakin Research Online
This is the authors’ final peer reviewed (post print) version of the
item published as:
Firth, Lucy, Mellor, David, Moore, Kathleen A and Loquet, Claude 2004,
How can managers reduce employee intention to quit?, Journal of
managerial psychology, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 170-187.
Available from Deakin Research Online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30008720
Reproduced with the kind permission of the copyright owner.
Copyright : 2004, Emerald Group Publishing

Howcanmanagersreduceemployeeintentiontoquit?
LucyFirth,DepartmentofInformationSystems,UniversityofMelbourne,Melbourne,
Australia
DavidJ.Mellor,SchoolofPsychology,DeakinUniversity,Melbourne,Australia
KathleenA.Moore,SchoolofPsychology,DeakinUniversity,Melbourne,Australia
ClaudeLoquet,SchoolofPsychology,DeakinUniversity,Melbourne,Australia
Abstract
Thispaperreportsonaninvestigationofthevariablesthatmaybepredictiveofintentions
toleaveajob,andtestsamodelthatincludesmediatingvariables.Atotalof173retail
salespeoplecompletedquestionnairesmeasuringcommitmenttotheorganizationfor
whichtheyworked,jobsatisfaction,stress,supervisorsupport,locusofcontrol,selfesteem,
theperceivedstressorsinthejobandtheirintentiontoquit.Pathanalysiswasusedtotest
therelationshipshypothesizedinthemodel.Themajorityofhypothesesweresupported,
withthevariablesincludedaccountingfor52percentofthevarianceinintentiontoquit.
Emotionalsupportfromsupervisorsandselfesteemmediatedtheimpactofstressorson
stressreactions,jobsatisfaction,commitmenttotheorganizationandintentiontoquit.Itis
suggestedthattoameliorateintentiontoquitandinturnreduceturnover,managersneed
toactivelymonitorworkloads,andtherelationshipsbetweensupervisorsandsubordinates
inordertoreduceandmanagestress.Managersalsoneedtomonitorboththeextrinsicand
intrinsicsourcesofjobsatisfactionavailabletoemployees.Theseactivitiescouldassistin
maintainingandincreasingjobsatisfactionandcommitmenttotheorganization.
“Whatdeterminesemployeeturnover?”Theanswertothisquestionhasgreatrelevanceto
theindividualwhomaybethinkingaboutquittingajob,andforthemanagerwhoisfaced
withlackofemployeecontinuity,thehighcostsinvolvedintheinductionandtrainingof
newstaff,and,notleast,issuesoforganizationalproductivity.Whileactualquitting
behaviouristheprimaryfocusofinteresttoemployersandresearchers,intentiontoquitis
arguedtobeastrongsurrogateindicatorforsuchbehaviour.Jobstressorsandlackofjob
satisfactionareamongthefactorsthatcontributetopeople'sintentiontoquittheirjobs
(Moore,2002);however,itisimportantbothfromthemanager'sandtheindividual's
perspectivetounderstandthefactorsthatmediatetherelationshipbetweenjobstressand
intentiontoquit.Thisstudyhadthreeaims:
1. Weaimedtoinvestigatetheeffectofjobstressorsonjobengagement(job
satisfaction,jobcommitmentandfeelingsofjobstress),andtorelateallofthese
variablestointentiontoquit.
2. Weaimedtoinvestigatewhetherpeople'sdispositionalfactors(locusofcontrol,
selfesteemandperceptionsofsocialsupport)weremediatorsofintentiontoquit.
3. Weaimedtoprovideacomprehensivemodelofintentionstoquitthatcouldbe
extrapolatedtoinformquittingbehaviour.
Intentionsare,accordingtoresearcherssuchasAjzenandFishbein(1980)andIgbariaand
Greenhaus(1992),themostimmediatedeterminantsofactualbehaviour.Theyarealsoof

practicalmeritfromaresearchperspective,asoncepeoplehaveactuallyimplementedthe
behaviourtoquit,thereislittlelikelihoodofgainingaccesstothemtounderstandtheir
priorsituation.Thevalidityofstudyingintentionsintheworkplacecanalsobedrawnfrom
Sager's(1991)longitudinalstudyofsalespeople,inwhichintentiontoquitwasfoundto
discriminateeffectivelybetweenleaversandstayers.However,whileitisreasonableto
arguethatintentionsareanaccurateindicatorofsubsequentbehaviour,westilldonot
knowwhatdeterminessuchintentions.
Numerousresearchers(e.g.Bluedorn,1982;KalliathandBeck,2001;Krameretal.,1995;
Petersetal.,1981;Saks,1996)haveattemptedtoanswerthequestionofwhatdetermines
people'sintentiontoquitbyinvestigatingpossibleantecedentsofemployees’intentionsto
quit.Todate,therehasbeenlittleconsistencyinfindings,whichispartlyduetothe
diversityofconstructsincludedbytheresearchersandthelackofconsistencyintheir
measurementsbutalsorelatestotheheterogeneityofpopulationssampled.Further,some
authorshavereportedvaliditycoefficients(readfactorloadings)forthevariablesunder
investigationbut,whilestatisticallysignificant,theseareoftenoflittlepracticalutility.Such
authorshavealsofailedtoreporttheamountofvarianceinintentiontoquitexplainedby
thefactorsintheirmodels.
Despitetheselimitations,amongthevariablesconsistentlyfoundtorelatetointentionto
quitare:
theexperienceofjobrelatedstress(jobstress);
therangeoffactorsthatleadtojobrelatedstress(stressors);
lackofcommitmenttotheorganization;and
jobdissatisfaction(e.g.GreenhausandBeutell,1985;IgbariaandGreenhaus,1992;
Kahnetal.,1964;Leongetal.,1996;Lumetal.,1998;Petersetal.,1981;Rahimand
Psenicka,1996).
Thesevariablescanbemediatedbypersonalordispositionalfactorsandbyenvironmental
ororganizationalfactors.Amongthepersonalfactorsthatmediatebetweenstressorsand
intentiontoquitareaspectsofpersonalagency,selfesteemandsocialsupport(e.g.Avison
andGotlib,1994;Coyneetal.,1990;CoyneandDowney,1991;TurnerandRoszell,1994).
Personalagencyreferstoconceptssuchasasenseofpowerlessness,locusofcontroland
personalcontrol.Researchfindingsstronglysuggestthatagreatersenseofpersonalagency
isassociatedwithareducedriskofnegativeoutcomesfollowingmajornegativelifeevents
androlerelatedstress(seeTurnerandRoszell,1994).Oneofthepersonalagencyvariables,
locusofcontrol,whichreferstotheextenttowhichpeoplebelievetheyorexternalfactors
suchaschanceandpowerfulothersareincontroloftheeventsthatinfluencetheirlives
(Levenson,1974;Rotter,1966),hasbeenstudiedinrelationtotheworkplace.Rahimand
Psenicka(1996)foundthataninternallocusofcontrolmediatedtherelationshipbetween
jobstressorsandtheintentiontoleaveajob.Morespecifically,internallocusofcontrolwas
foundtobepositivelyrelatedtojobsatisfaction(Sujan,1986)andtobeingemployed
(WatersandMoore,2002),whileanexternalorientationwasfoundtobenegativelyrelated
tojobsatisfaction(BehrmanandPerreault,1984)andwashigheramongunemployed
versusemployedpeople(WatersandMoore,2001).

Selfesteemreferstotheevaluationthatindividualsmakeandcustomarilymaintainwith
regardtothemselves.ReviewsbyKaplan(1975,1980)andsubsequentstudiesbyother
researchers(e.g.Silverstone,1991;WatersandMoore,2002)haveconsistentlyshownthat
lowselfesteemisrelatedtopsychologicalproblems,unemploymentandmaladaptive
behaviours.Anumberofotherstudieshaveprovidedsupportforthecontentionthathigh
selfesteemiscorrelatedwithjobsatisfaction(e.g.GreenhausandBadin,1974;Inkson,
1978;Kohli,1985;Teas,1981,1982).InastudybyMoore(2002),arelatedconstruct,self
efficacy(assessedspecificallyamongnursesinrelationtotheirprofessionalabilities),was
associatedwithreducedintentiontoquit(β=0.23).
Socialsupporthasbeenshowntoplayanimportantroleinmitigatingintentiontoquit,
althoughnotallfindingshavebeeninagreement.Forexample,Moore(2002)foundthat
socialsupportfromsupervisorsreducedthelevelofnurses’burnoutandindirectly,through
reducedlevelsofburnout,reducednurses’intentiontoquit.Asimilarresultwasreported
byKalliathandBeck(2001)whentheytestedtheimpactofsocialsupportontwo
componentsofburnout,namelydepersonalizationandemotionalexhaustion,andfound
thatsupervisorysupportreducednotonlythosesymptomsofburnoutbutalsodirectlyand
indirectlynurses’intentiontoquit.Ontheotherhand,Munn etal.(1996),inastudyof
Americanchildlifespecialists,foundlackofsupervisorsupportwasthebestpredictorofjob
dissatisfactionandintentiontoleaveajob,whileHattonandEmerson(1998)foundthat
actualstaffturnoverwaspredictedinpartbylowlevelsofsupportfromsuperiors.
However,otherstudies(e.g.RahimandPsenicka,1996)havefailedtofindamoderating
effectforsocialsupportintherelationshipbetweenjobstressorsandintentiontoquit.
Otherresearchers(e.g.Coghlan,1984;KellyandCross,1985)havefoundthatratherthan
supervisors’support,itisthesupportgainedfromtalkingwithpeers,familyandfriendsthat
isfrequentlycitedasasourceofstressreduction.Consistentwiththesefindings,Freddolino
andHeaney(1992)foundthatpeersocialsupportwasassociatedwithhigherjob
satisfactionamongdirectcarestaffandhomemanagersforintellectuallydisabledclients,
whileintentiontoquitwasassociatedwiththepresenceofsocialunderminingbyco
workersandprovideragencies.However,thebulkofevidencesuggeststhatitissituation
specificsupport,thatis,worksupervisor/homefamily(e.g.TinkerandMoore,2001),
thatis
mosteffective.Accordingly,inthisstudyweexaminedtheroleofsupervisors’supportin
employees’intentiontoquit.
Othervariablesimportantinthecontinuityofemploymentareemployees’jobsatisfaction
andtheircommitmenttotheorganization.Therelationshipsbetweenthesevariablesand
intentiontoquithavebeenfoundto
prevailacrossarangeofoccupations.Forinstance,
Wunderetal.(1982)foundthatjobstressorshadadirect,negativeeffectonjobsatisfaction
amongmanagersofalargeinternationalmanufacturer,whichledtoareducedcommitment
totheorganizationandtointentiontoquitandactualquittingbehaviour.However,several
otherstudies(e.g.ArmstrongStassenetal.,1994;IgbariaandGreenhaus,1992;Koeskeand
Koeske,1993;TinkerandMoore,2001)havefoundnodirecteffectofstressorsonintention
toquit,butratherindirecteffectsthroughtheexperienceofjobstress,socialsupport,job
satisfactionandlackofcommitmenttotheorganization.Forexample,Igbariaand
Greenhaus(1992)reportedthatamongmanagementinformationsystemspersonnel,the
mostimmediatedeterminantsofturnoverintentionswerelackofjobsatisfactionandlack
ofcommitmenttotheorganization.Itisimportant,therefore,toevaluateboththedirect
andindirecteffectsofjobstressorsonintentiontoquit.

Thisstudyassessedtheimpactofjobstressorsonintentiontoquitusingthedispositional
factors:locusofcontrol,selfesteem,andperceptionsofsupervisorsupport;andmediating
variablesthatarerelatedtojobengagement:commitmenttotheorganization,job
satisfaction,andfeelingsofstress.ThehypothesizedmodelispresentedinFigure1.
Method
Participants
Atotalof173salespeoplewererecruitedfromtheclothingsectionsofalargedepartment
storeinAustralia.Thesampleconsistedof164femalesandninemales,withameanageof
35.95years(SD=12.66,R=1861).Educationlevelsvariedfromcompletingsometimeathigh
schooltocompletingadegree.Intermsofyearsofservice,11participantshadworkedat
thestoreforlessthanoneyear,33foronetothreeyears,60forfourtosixyears,27for
seventotenyears,and42formorethantenyears.
Measures
AquestionnaireadaptedfromthecomprehensiveworkplacescaledevelopedbyTateetal.
(1997)fortheirtrinationstudywasusedinthisstudy(seetheAppendix).Tateand
colleaguesreportedadequateinternalreliabilityforeachfactorofthescale(α=0.61to
0.91).Thefactorsassessedwerestressors,jobstress,jobsatisfaction,commitmenttothe
organization,locusofcontrol,selfesteem,supportofferedbysupervisorsandintentionto
quit.Eachofthefactorsisexplainedbelow.
Stressorsmeasuredfouraspectsofstress.Threeitemsmeasuredeachofthefollowing
stressors:
roleambiguity(e.g.myjobresponsibilitiesarenotcleartome);
roleconflict(e.g.tosatisfysomepeopleatmyjob,Ihavetoupsetothers);
workoverload(e.g.itseemstomethatIhavemoreworkatmyjobthanIcan
handle);and
workfamilyconflict(e.g.myworkmakesmetootiredtoenjoyfamilylife).
ItemswereansweredonafivepointLikertscale,fromagreetodisagree.
Jobstresswasmeasuredwiththreeburnoutitems(e.g.Ifeelemotionallydrainedbymy
job)andfiveitemsrelatedtoanxietyandsomatic
complaints(e.g.jobrelatedproblems
keepmeawakeatnight;Ifeeltenseatmyjob).Participantsindicatedonasixpointscale
thedegreetowhichtheyexperiencedeachofthesesymptoms.
JobsatisfactionwasmeasuredusingafivepointLikertscaletoassessparticipants
agreementwithfourstatementsrelatingtoextrinsicfactors(e.g.jobsecurity,physical
conditions),andfourstatementsrelatingtointrinsicfactors(e.g.therecognitionreceived
forworkdone,thefreedomgiventodoone'sbestatthejob).
Commitmenttotheorganizationwasassessedviafiveitemsratedonafivepointscale(e.g.
Ireallycareaboutthefateofthisstore).

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Cites background from "How can managers reduce employee in..."

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  • ...Locus control refers to the extent to which people believe that the external factors such as chance and powerful others are in control of the events which influence their lives Firth et al. (2004)....

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Frequently Asked Questions (1)
Q1. What are the contributions in this paper?

This paper reports on an investigation of the variables that may be predictive of intentions to leave a job, and tests a model that includes mediating variables. This study had three aims: 1. the authors aimed to investigate the effect of job stressors on job engagement ( job satisfaction, job commitment and feelings of job stress ), and to relate all of these variables to intention to quit. 2. the authors aimed to investigate whether people 's dispositional factors ( locus of control, self‐esteem and perceptions of social support ) were mediators of intention to quit. 3. the authors aimed to provide a comprehensive model of intentions to quit that could be extrapolated to inform quitting behaviour. One of the personal agency variables, locus of control, which refers to the extent to which people believe they or external factors such as chance and powerful others are in control of the events that influence their lives ( Levenson, 1974 ; Rotter, 1966 ), has been studied in relation to the work place. In a study by Moore ( 2002 ), a related construct, self‐ efficacy ( assessed specifically among nurses in relation to their professional abilities ), was associated with reduced intention to quit ( β=−0. 23 ). On the other hand, Munn et al. ( 1996 ), in a study of American child life specialists, found lack of supervisor support was the best predictor of job dissatisfaction and intention to leave a job, while Hatton and Emerson ( 1998 ) found that actual staff turnover was predicted in part by low levels of support from superiors. Consistent with these findings, Freddolino and Heaney ( 1992 ) found that peer social support was associated with higher job satisfaction among direct care staff and home managers for intellectually disabled clients, while intention to quit was associated with the presence of social undermining by co‐ workers and provider agencies. Accordingly, in this study the authors examined the role of supervisors ’ support in employees ’ intention to quit. This study assessed the impact of job stressors on intention to quit using the dispositional factors: locus of control, self‐esteem, and perceptions of supervisor support ; and mediating variables that are related to job engagement: commitment to the organization, job satisfaction, and feelings of stress. The hypothesized model is presented in Figure 1. It is suggested that to ameliorate intention to quit and in turn reduce turnover, managers need to actively monitor workloads, and the relationships between supervisors and subordinates in order to reduce and manage stress. Further, some authors have reported validity co‐efficients ( read factor loadings ) for the variables under investigation but, while statistically significant, these are often of little practical utility. Research findings strongly suggest that a greater sense of personal agency is associated with a reduced risk of negative outcomes following major negative life events and role‐related stress ( see Turner and Roszell, 1994 ). However, the bulk of evidence suggests that it is situation‐ specific support, that is, work‐supervisor/home‐family ( e. g. Tinker and Moore, 2001 ), that is most effective. 

Trending Questions (3)
How do managers influence employee exit?

Managers can reduce employee intention to quit by actively monitoring workloads, relationships with supervisors, and sources of job satisfaction.

How can managers best address the issue of job resentment?

Managers can address job resentment by actively monitoring workloads, relationships between supervisors and subordinates, and both extrinsic and intrinsic sources of job satisfaction.

What can your organization do to increase your job satisfaction?

These activities could assist in maintaining and increasing job satisfaction and commitment to the organization.