Turnover during initial employment: A longitudinal study of the role of causal attributions

Abstract

Tested an attributional framework proposed by B. Weiner (1972; see also PA, Vol 62:8688) as an explanation for a new employee's decision to stay on the job or quit. Specifically, the relation among positive and negative performance outcomes, attributions of causality for performance, work satisfaction, and early turnover were examined. 51 hotel room cleaners (mean age 27 yrs) were asked to rate their own performance and explain it by rating 4 causal factors (ability, effort, difficulty, and luck) during the 1st and 3rd wks of employment. Ss also were administered the Job Descriptive Index and rated by supervisors. Turnover data were obtained from company records 6 mo after the study began. Results support the hypothesis that using a luck attribution to explain early performance leads to early turnover. Positive supervisory feedback led to internal attributions while negative feedback led to external attributions; internal attributions were related to work satisfaction. It is suggested that during training, effort attributions might be encouraged after poor performance while ability and effort attributions could be made following success experiences. (17 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)