5. The unfolding model of voluntary turnover and job embeddedness: Foundations for a comprehensive theory of attachment

Abstract In this chapter, a comprehensive approach to understanding voluntary employee turnover and retention is described. First, the literature on employee turnover is briefly reviewed because many of our ideas are grounded in existing theory and research. Second, our recent theory on why and how people leave the organization (called theUnfolding Model of Voluntary Turnover) is detailed. In particular, two empirical studies that confirm and refine the model's major propositions are summarized. Third, our analysis of why people stay is explained. This approach to understanding employee retention is grounded in the development, measurement and test of a construct called jobembeddedness. In addition, two empirical studies that competitively test and refine the embeddedness construct are summarized. Fourth, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of organizational attachment, our preliminary ideas about the integration of the unfolding model and job embeddedness are offered. In our last section, the implications of this work are discussed. More specifically, we identify a number of ways that our theoretical constructs and empirical research fundamentally change or challenge many basic assumptions about traditional theory and research on employee turnover and retention. Finally, our concluding comments focus on how an organization can apply these ideas to increase attachment through embeddedness and/or to reduce turnover by understanding the tenets of the unfolding model.

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