Employee Turnover In The Workplace

2.1. Turnover

Turnover happens when workers separate with their organizations (Mathis et al. 2010). Turnover is measured by dividing the number of employees leaving the organization in a year with the number of all employees at midyear (Mathis et al. 2010). Turnover begins with turnover intention, defined as a thought or desire to leave (Abelson, 1987).

Turnover can be classified into different types, according to the willingness to leave, the impact of the leaving, and whether the turnover is controllable or not (Mathis et al. 2010). Turnover can be voluntary or involuntary; voluntary turnover happens when one worker leaves by his choice and may be due to dissatisfaction, supervision, pay, geographical factors, or better career opportunities

2012). Organisational factors comprises organisational characteristics (such as hospital status or profitability), organisational climate or culture, and interpersonal relations within the organisation (such as relationship between colleagues in the hospital). Work-related factors include several factors which come from the job, including role-stress or conflict and ambiguity from the job, high workload, hazardous working condition, or financial rewards. Turnover may also be caused by factors coming from the employee himself, such as the demographic factors including gender, educational background, and age; as well as the employee’s attitude. External factors including personal conflict or opportunity from external job market can also cause turnover.

Another theory by Mcbey and Kawakowsky (2001) states that there are four broad categories of turnover’s influencers:

1. Push or work-related factors, which push the worker to voluntarily separate with the organisation. These factors include work satisfaction, satisfaction with salary, and performance-reward contingencies.

2. Pull or external factors, which pull the worker out of his current employment. These external factors are personal and household income, family commitment, alternative works, and other external

There are interventions can be done to prevent nurses leaving the organisation:

1. Correlational studies, to identify personal characteristics associated with turnover. These characteristics should be considered in selecting and hiring new nurses; however it should be noted that discrimination against age, sex, race, and union is prohibited.

2. Exit interviews, to interview departing employees about their reasons for leaving. These interviews are performed one or two weeks prior to the leaving and should be done by a skilled person with specific techniques in order to have an honest response.

3. Post-termination polls, to conduct polling on former nurses one or two months after the resignation regarding the reason for leaving. This technique is considered to be more objective than other techniques.

4. Attitude surveys, to identify work satisfaction and dissatisfaction among current nurses. Nurses who tend to leave have lower satisfaction and higher tension and pressure, while nurses who tend to stay are older, more senior, and have better