The Relationship Between Career Growth And Turnover Intention: A Study On The Regulating Effect Of Matching Individual And Organizational Values

Influencers of corporate employee turnover and function mechanisms have long been a focal issue of organizational behavior and human resource research. As an indicator for internal employee retention, turnover rate has become too high in many industries. High turnover rate could bring problems such as rising costs and decreasing productivity. The increase in openness and lower barriers of the job market facilitates employees to switch from one employer to another as they will. How to avoid unnecessary loss caused by voluntary turnover and to remain stability in employee retention rate has become an issue for human resource managers as well as for managers of corporations.By surveying 219 corporate employees and data processing using SPSS 20.0, this paper analyses employee voluntary turnover from a career growth and person-organization value fit perspective. Research data suggest that career growth potential significantly reduces turnover intentions. This relation is moderated by the employee’s perception of the congruence of his/her value with that of the organization. As the person-organization value fit perception increases, the reducing effect of career growth potential on employee turnover intention diminishes. Possible explanations for this moderating effect are proposed. When the perceived value congruence of the person and the organization is high, employees may compromise their expectations with high fit perceptions with the organization, thus weakening the preventive effect of career growth on turnover. By contrast, when the person-organization value fit perception is low, employees are more likely to choose to leave the current organization and pursue career growth opportunities elsewhere. In summary, career growth opportunities will lower employees’intention to leave. This relationship is moderated by person-organization value fit. When employees have high values of fit with the organization, the reducing effect of career growth on employees’turnover intention is weakened. As the perceived fit between employee value and organization value become lower, the employee may reconsider leaving the organization for better career development. As the prospect of finding and entering a similar organization decreases, the employee may finally decide to make do with the current organization for a better fit between the values of the person and the organization.In management practice, organizations should realize the importance of employees’ career growth. Appropriate career growth opportunities which are adaptable with employees’ career planning will lower chances of voluntary turnover. Moreover, organizations should take person-organization value fit into consideration when facing the voluntary turnover issue. This will affect not only whether the organization could attract and attain valuable employees, but also the effectiveness of the effort in retaining them.