Saying goodbye: The nature, causes, and consequences of employee resignation styles

Journal of Applied Psychology

Volumn 101, Issue 10, 2016, Pages 1386-1404

  Klotz, Anthony C ^a   Bolino, Mark C ^b  

^a OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA   (United States)

Author keywords

Emotional reactions; Resignation; Social exchange theory; Turnover

Indexed keywords

EMPLOYEE; HUMAN; HUMAN EXPERIMENT; MANAGER; ORGANIZATION; PSYCINFO; STUDENT; TAXONOMY; TURNOVER TIME; ADULT; EMPLOYMENT; FEMALE; MALE; PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT; PSYCHOLOGY; YOUNG ADULT;

ADULT; EMPLOYMENT; FEMALE; HUMANS; MALE; PERSONNEL TURNOVER; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 84975700668     PISSN: 00219010     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1037/apl0000135     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267-299). New York, NY: Academic Press.
2. Aguinis, H., & Bradley, K. J. (2014). Best practice recommendations for designing and implementing experimental vignette methodology studies. Organizational Research Methods, 17, 351-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428114547952
3. Ambrose, M. L., & Schminke, M. (2009). The role of overall justice judgments in organizational justice research: A test of mediation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 491-500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0013203
4. Ambrose, M. L., Seabright, M. A., & Schminke, M. (2002). Sabotage in the workplace: The role of organizational injustice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89, 947-965. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0749-5978(02)00037-7
5. Aryee, S., Chen, Z. X., Sun, L. Y., & Debrah, Y. A. (2007). Antecedents and outcomes of abusive supervision: Test of a trickle-down model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 191-201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ 0021-9010.92.1.191
6. Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Strauss, J. P. (1994). Antecedents of involuntary turnover due to a reduction in force. Personnel Psychology, 47, 515-535. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1994.tb01735.x
7. Bateman, T. S., & Organ, D. W. (1983). Job satisfaction and the good soldier: The relationship between affect and employee "citizenship." Academy of Management Journal, 26, 587-595. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/255908
8. Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York, NY: Wiley.
9. Brockner, J., Grover, S., Reed, T., DeWitt, R., & O'Malley, M. (1987). Survivors' reactions to layoffs: We get by with a little help for our friends. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32, 526-541. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2392882
10. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010). Number of jobs held, labor market activity, and earnings growth among the youngest baby boomers. Results from a longitudinal survey. Washington, DC: Author.
11. Buzzanell, P. M., & Liu, M. (2007). It's 'give and take': Maternity leave as a conflict management process. Human Relations, 60, 463-495. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018726707076688
12. Cammann, C., Fichman, M., Jenkins, D., & Klesh, J. (1979). The Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
13. Chao, G. T., O'Leary-Kelly, A. M., Wolf, S., Klein, H. J., & Gardner, P. D. (1994). Organizational socialization: Its content and consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 730-743. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ 0021-9010.79.5.730
14. Chiaburu, D. S., & Harrison, D. A. (2008). Do peers make the place? Conceptual synthesis and meta-analysis of coworker effects on perceptions, attitudes, OCBs, and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1082-1103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.5.1082
15. Christianson, S. A. (1992). Emotional stress and eyewitness memory: A critical review. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 284-309. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/0033-2909.112.2.284
16. Colquitt, J. A., Conlon, D. E., Wesson, M. J., Porter, C. O., & Ng, K. Y. (2001). Justice at the millennium: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 425-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.425
17. Colquitt, J. A., Scott, B. A., Rodell, J. B., Long, D. M., Zapata, C. P., Conlon, D. E., & Wesson, M. J. (2013). Justice at the millennium, a decade later: A meta-analytic test of social exchange and affect-based perspectives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 199-236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0031757
18. Crampton, S. M., & Wagner, J. A. (1994). Percept-percept inflation in microorganizational research: An investigation of prevalence and effect. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, 67-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ 0021-9010.79.1.67
19. Cropanzano, R., & Mitchell, M. S. (2005). Social exchange theory: An interdisciplinary review. Journal of Management, 31, 874-900. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206305279602
20. Dess, G. G., & Shaw, J. D. (2001). Voluntary turnover, social capital, and organizational performance. Academy of Management Review, 26, 446-456.
21. Donnelly, D. P., & Quirin, J. J. (2006). An extension of Lee and Mitchell's unfolding model of voluntary turnover. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 59-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/job.367
22. Elfenbein, H. A. (2007). Emotion in organizations: A review and theoretical integration. The Academy of Management Annals, 1, 315-386. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/078559812
23. Feldman, D. C. (1981). The multiple socialization of organization members. Academy of Management Review, 6, 309-318. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/257888
24. Feldman, D. C., & Klaas, B. S. (1999). The impact of exit questionnaire procedures on departing employees' self-disclosure. Journal of Managerial Issues, 11, 13-25.
25. Felps, W., Mitchell, T. R., Hekman, D. R., Lee, T. W., Holtom, B. C., & Harman, W. S. (2009). Turnover contagion: How coworkers' job embeddedness and job search behaviors influence quitting. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 545-561. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2009.41331075
26. Ferris, D. L., Brown, D. J., Berry, J. W., & Lian, H. (2008). The development and validation of the Workplace Ostracism Scale. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1348-1366. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0012743
27. Fox, S., Spector, P. E., & Miles, D. (2001). Counterproductive work behavior (CWB) in response to job stressors and organizational justice: Some mediator and moderator tests for autonomy and emotions. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 59, 291-309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.2001.1803
28. Gabriel, A. S., Diefendorff, J. M., Chandler, M. M., Moran, C. M., & Greguras, G. J. (2014). The dynamic relationships of work affect and job satisfaction with perceptions of fit. Personnel Psychology, 67, 389-420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/peps.12042
29. Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16, 15-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094 428112452151
30. Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. New Brunswick, NJ: Aldine Transaction.
31. Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/ 2092623
32. Greenberg, J. (1990). Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity: The hidden cost of pay cuts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75, 561-568. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.75.5.561
33. Griffeth, R. W., Hom, P. W., & Gaertner, S. (2000). A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26, 463-488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600305
34. Hak, T., & Bernts, T. (1996). Coder training: Theoretical training or practical socialization? Qualitative Sociology, 19, 235-257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02393420
35. Hom, P. W., Mitchell, T. R., Lee, T. W., & Griffeth, R. W. (2012). Reviewing employee turnover: Focusing on proximal withdrawal states and an expanded criterion. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 831-858. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0027983
36. Hom, P. W., Tsui, A. S., Wu, J. B., Lee, T. W., Zhang, A. Y., Fu, P. P., & Li, L. (2009). Explaining employment relationships with social exchange and job embeddedness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 277-297. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0013453
37. Jablin, F. M. (2001). Organizational entry, assimilation, and disengagement/ entry. In F. M. Jablin & L. L. Putnam (Eds.), Handbook of organizational communication (pp. 679-740). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412986243
38. Jones, M. D. (2006). Which is a better predictor of job performance: Job satisfaction or life satisfaction? Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 8, 20-42.
39. Klatzke, S. R. (2008). Communication and sensemaking during the exit phase of socialization (Unpublished dissertation). University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.
40. Klotz, A. C., & Zimmerman, R. D. (2015). On the turning away: An exploration of the employee resignation process. In M. R. Buckley, A. R. Wheeler, & J. R. B. Halbesleben (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resources management (Vol. 33, pp. 51-119). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
41. Konovsky, M. A., & Pugh, S. D. (1994). Citizenship behavior and social exchange. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 656-669. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256704
42. Kramer, M. W. (2010). Organizational socialization. Malden, MA: Polity Press.
43. Kvale, S. (2007). Doing interviews. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
44. Lavelle, J. J., Rupp, D. E., & Brockner, J. (2007). Taking a multifoci approach to the study of justice, social exchange, and citizenship behavior: The target similarity model. Journal of Management, 33, 841-866. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0149206307307635
45. Lawler, E. J. (2001). An affect theory of social exchange. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 321-352. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/324071
46. Lawler, E. J., & Thye, S. R. (1999). Bringing emotions into social exchange theory. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 217-244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.25.1.217
47. Lee, T. W., & Mitchell, T. R. (1994). An alternative approach: The unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover. The Academy of Management Review, 19, 51-89.
48. Lee, T. W., Mitchell, T. R., Wise, L., & Fireman, S. (1996). An unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 5-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256629
49. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
50. Lindlof, T. R., & Taylor, B. C. (2011). Qualitative communication research methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
51. Liu, M., & Buzzanell, P. M. (2004). Negotiating maternity leave expectations. Journal of Business Communication, 41, 323-349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021943604268174
52. Maertz, C. P., & Campion, M. A. (2004). Profiles in quitting: Integrating process and content turnover theory. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 566-582. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/20159602
53. Maertz, C. P., Jr., & Kmitta, K. R. (2012). Integrating turnover reasons and shocks with turnover decision processes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 81, 26-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2012.04.002
54. Meister, J. C., & Willyerd, K. (2010). Mentoring millennials. Harvard Business Review, 88, 68-72.
55. Miller, V. D., Jablin, F. M., Casey, M. K., Lamphear-Van Horn, M., & Ethington, C. (1996). The maternity leave as a role negotiation process. Journal of Managerial Issues, 8, 286-309.
56. Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., Lee, T. W., Sablynski, C. J., & Erez, M. (2001). Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 1102-1121. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3069391
57. Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. (2001). The unfolding model of voluntary turnover and job embeddedness: Foundations for a comprehensive theory of attachment. In B. M. Staw & R. I. Sutton (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 23, pp. 189-246). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0191-3085(01)23006-8
58. Mobley, W. H. (1977). Intermediate linkages in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 237-240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.62.2.237
59. Mobley, W. H., Griffeth, R. W., Hand, H. H., & Meglino, B. M. (1979). Review and conceptual analysis of the employee turnover process. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 493-522. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.86.3.493
60. Organ, D. W. (1990). The motivational basis of organizational citizenship behavior. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 12, pp. 43-72). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
61. Orvis, K. A., Dudley, N. M., & Cortina, J. M. (2008). Conscientiousness and reactions to psychological contract breach: A longitudinal field study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 1183-1193. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/0021-9010.93.5.1183
62. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-903. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
63. PwC Saratoga. (2012). Key trends in human capital 2012: A global perspective. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/hr-managementservices/ pdf/pwc-key-trends-in-human-capital-management.pdf
64. Rappaport, L., & Enrich, D. (2012, March 15). Goldman plays damage control, Wall Street Journal, C1. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com/ articles/SB10001424052702304692804577281252012689294
65. Rousseau, D. M., & Anton, R. J. (1991). Fairness and implied contract obligations in job terminations: The role of contributions, promises, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 12, 287-299. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1002/job.4030120404
66. Saucier, G. (1994). Mini-markers: A brief version of Goldberg's unipolar big-five markers. Journal of Personality Assessment, 63, 506-516. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6303_8
67. Scott, K. L., Restubog, S. L. D., & Zagenczyk, T. J. (2013). A social exchange-based model of the antecedents of workplace exclusion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98, 37-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ a0030135
68. Shaw, J. D., Dineen, B. R., Fang, R., & Vellella, R. F. (2009). Employeeorganization exchange relationships, HRM practices, and quit rates of good and poor performers. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 1016-1033. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2009.44635525
69. Shaw, J. D., Gupta, N., & Delery, J. E. (2005). Alternative conceptualizations of the relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 50-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.15993112
70. Sherony, K. M., & Green, S. G. (2002). Coworker exchange: Relationships between coworkers, leader-member exchange, and work attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 542-548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.3.542
71. Simon, L. S., Judge, T. A., & Halvorsen-Ganepola, M. D. K. (2010). In good company? A multi-study, multi-level investigation of the effects of coworker relationships on employee well-being. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 534-546. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.01.006
72. Simons, T., & Roberson, Q. (2003). Why managers should care about fairness: The effects of aggregate justice perceptions on organizational outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 432-443. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.432
73. Skarlicki, D. P., & Folger, R. (1997). Retaliation in the workplace: The roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 434-443. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.3.434
74. Smith, G. (2012, March 14). Why I am leaving Goldman Sachs, New York Times, A27. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/ opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?_r=0
75. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
76. Tan, C. L., & Kramer, M. W. (2012). Communication and voluntary downward career changes. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 40, 87-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2011.634429
77. Tekleab, A. G., Takeuchi, R., & Taylor, M. S. (2005). Extending the chain of relationships among organizational justice, social exchange, and employee reactions: The role of contract violations. Academy of Management Journal, 48, 146-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.15993162
78. Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 178-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1556375
79. Tepper, B. J., Carr, J. C., Breaux, D. M., Geider, S., Hu, C., & Hua, W. (2009). Abusive supervision, intentions to quit, and employees' workplace deviance: A power/dependence analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109, 156-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2009.03.004
80. Thau, S., Bennett, R. J., Mitchell, M. S., & Marrs, M. B. (2009). How management style moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance: An uncertainty management theory perspective. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108, 79-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.06.003
81. Tsui, A. S., Pearce, J. L., Porter, L. W., & Tripoli, A. M. (1997). Alternative approaches to the employee-organization relationship: Does investment in employees pay off? Academy of Management Journal, 40, 1089-1121. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/256928
82. Van Katwyk, P. T., Fox, S., Spector, P. E., & Kelloway, E. K. (2000). Using the job-related affective well-being scale (JAWS) to investigate affective responses to work stressors. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 219-230. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.2.219
83. Walker, R. (2015, July 26). When you're writing a resignation letter, less is more. New York Times, BU7. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/jobs/when-youre-writing-a-resignation-letter-less-ismore. html
84. Walsh, I., Holton, J. A., Bailyn, L., Fernandez, W., Levina, N., & Glaser, B. (2015). What grounded theory is. A critically reflective conversation among scholars. Organizational Research Methods, 18, 581-599. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428114565028
85. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063-1070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063
86. Weber, J. (1992). Scenarios in business ethics research: Review, critical assessment, and recommendations. Business Ethics Quarterly, 2, 137-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3857568
87. Weick, K. E. (1979). The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.
88. Weiss, H. M., Suckow, K., & Cropanzano, R. (1999). Effects of justice conditions on discrete emotions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 786-794. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.84.5.786
89. Zellars, K. L., Tepper, B. J., & Duffy, M. K. (2002). Abusive supervision and subordinates' organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 1068-1076. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.6.1068
90. Zimmerman, R. D. (2008). Understanding the impact of personality traits on individuals' turnover decisions: A meta-analytic path model. Personnel Psychology, 61, 309-348. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00115.x