Does affective disposition moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and voluntary turnover

J. Weitz (1952) argued that job dissatisfaction would be more predictive of turnover if it was considered in light of an individual's predisposition to be satisfied with everyday life events. In the present study it was hypothesized that affective disposition moderates the relationship between job satisfaction and voluntary turnover. With data collected from a sample of nurses, support was indicated for the hypothesis. The more positive the disposition of the individual, the stronger the relationship that was observed between job dissatisfaction and turnover. Furthermore, individuals dissatisfied with their jobs but positively disposed to life in general were the individuals most likely to quit. Implications of the results for future research and practice are discussed. Empirical work over the years has clearly established the significant role of job satisfaction in predicting turnover. Carsten and Spector (1987), in a meta-analysis of 47 studies, estimated a corrected correlation between job satisfaction and turnover of-.26 (the 95% confidence interval did not include 0). Because sampling error accounted for only 21 % of the variance in correlations across studies, the authors concluded that room for significant moderator effects existed. In fact, Carsten and Spector found that alternative employment opportunities moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover. On the basis of Carsten and Specter's findings, the potential exists that other variables interact with job satisfaction in predicting turnover. Given the importance of turnover decisions to individuals and organizations (Dalton & Todor, 1979; Mobley, 1982; Staw, 1980), it is surprising that more research concerning potential moderators of the job satisfaction-turnover relationship has not been conducted.

[1]  Don Hellriegel,et al.  TURNOVER OF PROFESSIONALS IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTING: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS , 1973 .

[2]  R. Hambleton,et al.  Item Response Theory , 1984, The History of Educational Measurement.

[3]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  The consequences of turnover , 1980 .

[4]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[5]  J. Weitz.  A Neglected Concept in the Study of Job Satisfaction , 1952 .

[6]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  LISREL 7: A guide to the program and applications , 1988 .

[7]  Ulf Olsson,et al.  Maximum likelihood estimation of the polychoric correlation coefficient , 1979 .

[8]  M. Roznowski,et al.  Examination of the measurement properties of the job descriptive index with experimental items , 1989 .

[9]  William H. Mobley,et al.  Intermediate linkages in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. , 1977 .

[10]  Lyman W. Porter,et al.  Employee Turnover and Post Decision Accommodation Processes. , 1979 .

[11]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  Stability in the Midst of Change: A Dispositional Approach to Job Attitudes , 1985 .

[12]  Eugene F. Stone,et al.  Clarifying some controversial issues surrounding statistical procedures for detecting moderator variables: Empirical evidence and related matters. , 1989 .

[13]  Charles L. Hulin,et al.  The measurement of satisfaction in work and retirement: A strategy for the study of attitudes. , 1969 .

[14]  D. Hosmer,et al.  Applied Logistic Regression , 1991 .

[15]  D. R. Dalton,et al.  Turnover turned over: an expanded and positive perspective. , 1979, Academy of management review. Academy of Management.

[16]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[17]  J. S. Long,et al.  Covariance Structure Models: An Introduction to LISREL , 1983 .

[18]  D. Watson,et al.  The vicissitudes of mood measurement: effects of varying descriptors, time frames, and response formats on measures of positive and negative affect. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[19]  Barry M. Staw,et al.  The dispositional approach to job attitudes: A lifetime longitudinal test. , 1986 .

[20]  Richard M. Steers,et al.  Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism. , 1973 .

[21]  P. C. Smith.  In pursuit of happiness-why study general job satisfaction?- , 1992 .

[22]  Greg R. Oldham,et al.  Reconsidering Our Dependent Variables: A Critique and Empirical Study , 1978 .

[23]  Cynthia D. Fisher,et al.  The new look in job satisfaction theory and research , 1992 .

[24]  W. Balzer.  Biases in the recording of performance-related information: The effects of initial impression and centrality of the appraisal task , 1986 .

[25]  Thomas J. Bouchard,et al.  Job Satisfaction: Environmental and Genetic Components , 1989 .

[26]  E. Diener,et al.  Subjective well-being. , 1984, Psychological bulletin.

[27]  Karl K. Lin,et al.  Rigid Regression under Alternative Loss Criteria , 1982 .

[28]  Timothy A. Judge,et al.  Job satisfaction : how people feel about their jobs and how it affects their performance , 1994 .

[29]  Barry Gerhart,et al.  Voluntary turnover and alternative job opportunities , 1990 .

[30]  Philip H. Mirvis,et al.  The Cynical Americans: Living and Working in an Age of Discontent and Disillusion , 1989 .

[31]  Charles L. Hulin,et al.  An empirical comparison of item response theory and hierarchical factor analysis in applications to the measurement of job satisfaction. , 1982 .

[32]  T. Judge.  Job satisfaction as a reflection of disposition: Investigating the relationship and its effect on employee adaptive behaviors , 1990 .

[33]  David W. Hosmer,et al.  Applied Logistic Regression , 1991 .

[34]  M J Burke,et al.  Should negative affectivity remain an unmeasured variable in the study of job stress? , 1988, The Journal of applied psychology.

[35]  D. Watson,et al.  Toward a consensual structure of mood. , 1985, Psychological bulletin.

[36]  Paul E. Spector,et al.  Unemployment, job satisfaction, and employee turnover: A meta-analytic test of the Muchinsky model. , 1987 .

[37]  Christine E. DeMars,et al.  Item Response Theory , 2010, Assessing Measurement Invariance for Applied Research.

[38]  B. Gerhart.  What is the Practical Relevance of Dispositional Effects on Job Satisfaction , 1990 .

[39]  T. Judge,et al.  Report on an Alternative Measure of Affective Disposition , 1993 .

[40]  R. Darlington,et al.  Regression and Linear Models , 1990 .

[41]  William H. Mobley,et al.  Employee turnover : causes, consequences, and control , 1983 .

[42]  Mark A. Huselid,et al.  Organizational Commitment, Job Involvement, and Turnover: A Substantive and Methodological Analysis , 1991 .

[43]  A. Goldberger.  A course in econometrics , 1991 .