An analysis of the employee turnover - work satisfaction relationship

Scope of study. Employee satisfaction is an important concern for organizations. While the research is mixed with regard to the direction of causality, there is a proven relationship between satisfaction and firm performance. This study examined employee satisfaction with a particular focus on staff turnover. Employee turnover may have negative impacts (as when staff members become overly concerned about their own longevity and when the strong staff members leave) or positive impacts (as when less productive staff members leave and when additional promotion opportunities are the result). Therefore, this study had two objectives: to assess the overall level of satisfaction of employees of a specific organization and to examine the relationship between staff turnover and employee satisfaction. Data were collected through an instrument distributed to all staff members of the four learning centers of the Maryland Campus of the University of Phoenix. The instrument consisted of the Job Descriptive Index and the Job In General scale and questions related to turnover and its perceived impacts. The overall response rate was 65.1 percent.; Findings and conclusions. The study determined that staff members at the Maryland Campus of the University of Phoenix tended to be very satisfied with promotional opportunities, their coworkers and others on the job, and with their supervision. This satisfaction was offset by a consistently strong dissatisfaction with pay such that overall Job In General satisfaction was at national norms. At the overall campus level, the employee turnover rate was accurately perceived by employees, but staff members consistently underestimated turnover in their own departments. The impact of this turnover has a statistically negative impact on employee satisfaction, but the relationship is small and weakly held. Of 24 analyses performed, 18 showed a negative relationship between turnover rates and employee satisfaction while only six showed a positive relationship. However in only four of the 24 cases was the coefficient of determination greater than 0.20 and in only two cases did it exceed 0.30. Therefore, at the Maryland Campus the relatively high turnover rate does not have a strongly negative impact on employee satisfaction.