Systematic reduction in participation: A study of an employee withdrawal behavior

The relationship between job factors and turnover has been studied extensively. However, little is understood regarding how the same job factors interact with the decision-making process to lead to other withdrawal choices, e.g. absenteeism, decreased performance, etc. The current study was created to explore relationships between several job factors and three withdrawal behaviors: absenteeism, turnover, and systematic reduction in participation (SRP). Systematic reduction in participation is the phenomenon whereby an employee begins a job, working at full time, and subsequently reduces scheduled work hours to some fraction of that amount.;Mobley's "Intermediate Linkages" turnover model was modified for use in this research model. It was expanded to include a variety of withdrawal behaviors as outcomes, instead of turnover alone. This study attempted to discover (1) the incidence of SRP in the population of bedside, registered nurses; and (2) the relationship between turnover and SRP in a predictive withdrawal model.;The research design consisted of a five-year retrospective examination of a cohort of registered nurses at five western hospitals. Four hundred and four full time registered nurses' work schedules were scanned for five years from their date of hire. Absenteeism, SRP, and turnover data were collected. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.;It was found that SRP occurred in all hospitals, and that its incidence varied from 47% to 110% of the incidence for turnover. Systematic reduction in participation was associated with longer average lengths of service. Both turnover and SRP were predicted by employment at specific hospitals, by assignment to day shift, and assignment in maternal and child service areas. Although many nurses exhibited both SRP and turnover, multivariate tests of relationships between the two failed to show that SRP functions as a predictor of turnover.;The author concludes by proposing a theory of employee withdrawal, and compares this with Mobley's turnover model. Implications for clinical application of findings and future research are discussed.