Who withdraws? Psychological individual differences and employee withdrawal behaviors.

Psychological individual differences, such as personality, affectivity, and general mental ability, have been shown to predict numerous work-related behaviors. Although there is substantial research demonstrating relationships between psychological individual differences and withdrawal behaviors (i.e., lateness, absenteeism, and turnover), there is no integrative framework providing scholars and practitioners a guide for conceptualizing how, why, and under what circumstances we observe such relationships. In this integrative conceptual review we: (a) utilize the Cognitive-Affective Processing System framework (Mischel & Shoda, 1995) to provide an overarching theoretical basis for how psychological individual differences affect withdrawal behaviors; (b) create a theoretical model of the situated person that summarizes the existing empirical literature examining the effect of psychological differences on withdrawal behavior; and (c) identify future research opportunities based on our review and integrative framework.

Searching for the right fit: development of applicant person-organization fit perceptions during the recruitment process.

Numerous studies link applicant fit perceptions measured at a single point in time to recruitment outcomes. Expanding upon this prior research by incorporating decision-making theory, this study examines how applicants develop these fit perceptions over the duration of the recruitment process, showing meaningful changes in fit perceptions across and within organizations overtime. To assess the development of applicant fit perceptions, eight assessments of person-organization (PO) fit with up to four different organizations across 169 applicants for 403 job choice decisions were analyzed. Results showed the presence of initial levels and changes in differentiation of applicant PO fit perceptions across organizations, which significantly predicted future job choice. In addition, changes in within-organizational PO fit perceptions across two stages of recruitment predicted applicant job choices among multiple employers. The implications of these results for accurately understanding the development of fit perceptions, relationships between fit perceptions and key recruiting outcomes, and possible limitations of past meta-analytically derived estimates of these relationships are discussed.

Examining the job search-turnover relationship: the role of embeddedness, job satisfaction, and available alternatives.

This study examined factors that may help explain under what conditions employee job search effort may most strongly (or weakly) predict subsequent turnover. As predicted, the job search-turnover relationship was stronger when employees had lower levels of job embeddedness and job satisfaction and higher levels of available alternatives. These findings suggest that there may be a number of factors interacting to influence employees' turnover decisions, indicating greater complexity to the process than described in prominent sequential turnover models.

A review and meta-analysis of the nomological network of trainee reactions.

A review and meta-analysis of studies assessing trainee reactions are presented. Results suggest reactions primarily capture characteristics of the training course, but trainee characteristics (e.g., anxiety and pretraining motivation) and organizational support also have a moderate effect on reactions. Instructional style (rho = .66) followed by human interaction (rho = .56) were the best predictors of reactions. Reactions predicted pre-to-post changes in motivation (beta = .51) and self-efficacy (beta = .24) and were more sensitive than affective and cognitive learning outcomes to trainees' perceptions of characteristics of the training course. Moderator analyses revealed reactions- outcomes correlations tended to be stronger in courses that utilized a high level rather than a low level of technology, and affective and utility reactions did not differ in their relationships with learning outcomes. The current study clarifies the nomological network of reactions and specifies outcomes that are theoretically related to reactions.

Reducing voluntary, avoidable turnover through selection.

The authors investigated the efficacy of several variables used to predict voluntary, organizationally avoidable turnover even before the employee is hired. Analyses conducted on applicant data collected in 2 separate organizations (N = 445) confirmed that biodata, clear-purpose attitudes and intentions, and disguised-purpose dispositional retention scales predicted voluntary, avoidable turnover (rs ranged from -.16 to -.22, R = .37, adjusted R = .33). Results also revealed that biodata scales and disguised-purpose retention scales added incremental validity, whereas clear-purpose retention scales did not explain significant incremental variance in turnover beyond what was explained by biodata and disguised-purpose scales. Furthermore, disparate impact (subgroup differences on race, sex, and age) was consistently small (average d = 0.12 when the majority group scored higher than the minority group).

A counterintuitive hypothesis about employment interview validity and some supporting evidence.

This study found mixed support for the hypothesis that the difference in criterion-related validity between unstructured and structured employment interviews is due solely to the greater reliability of structured interviews. Using data from prior meta-analyses, this hypothesis was tested in 4 data sets by using standard psychometric procedures to remove the effects of measurement error in interview scores from correlations with rated job performance and training performance. In the 1st data set. support was found for this hypothesis. However, in a 2nd data set structured interviews had higher true score correlations with performance ratings, and in 2 other data sets unstructured interviews had higher true score correlations. We also found that averaging across 3 to 4 independent unstructured interviews provides the same level of validity for predicting job performance as a structured interview administered by a single interviewer. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.