TITLE:
Retaining High Achievers in Times of Demographic Change. The Effects of Proactivity, Career Satisfaction and Job Embeddedness on Voluntary Turnover
AUTHORS:
Jutta Lang, Marcel Kern, Dieter Zapf
KEYWORDS:
Proactivity, Career Satisfaction, Job Embeddedness, Job Opportunities, Voluntary Turnover
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.7 No.13,
November
11,
2016
ABSTRACT: The present study analyses the specific impact of proactivity, career
satisfaction and job embeddedness on career turnover and aims to contribute to
the improvement of future recruitment and retention policies. We propose an
integrated model that focuses on direct and indirect effects of proactivity,
career satisfaction and job embeddedness, on alternative job opportunities,
going to job interviews and signing a new job contract. To test our hypotheses
we used structural equation modeling with data from 192 employed participants,
contacted at two separate points in time, once asking for personality and
career related data, and six month later for turnover outcomes. The results
support the assumption that proactive but not career satisfied and embedded
employees carry with them a higher risk of leaving for greener pastures through
their easier access to alternative job opportunities. On their way up the
career ladder only high levels of job embeddedness and in particular attractive
career opportunities within the present organization make staying more
attractive than leaving.