Job Search, Perceptions Of Alternative Employment And Turnover

Abstract

After the seminal study of turnover, by Mobley (1977), others (Hom, Griffeth, & Sellaro, 1984, Hom & Griffeth, 1988; Steers & Mowday, 1981) have placed a major emphasis upon perceptions of the external labor market (expected utility of search and evaluation of alternatives), intentions to search, actual job search activities and the results of that search upon the turnover decision. Yet, empirical research has tended to ignore the role that the job search plays in turnover. The present study operationalized the concepts of: perceptions of the external labor market, the individual’s job search and the results of the job search upon the individual’s decision to quit. Subjects were 106 alumni of a branch campus of a large Midwestern university. Respondents were employed in a variety of managerial and professional positions. Data were collected through phone interviews and turnover was assessed over a thirteen-month period Turnover was accurately predicted by the evaluation of alternatives, the intention to search, the expected utility of the search and thoughts of quitting. Each accounted for unique variance in the prediction of the intention to search, the expected utility of search and quitting, and thoughts of quitting.