The snowball effect: Turnover embedded in communication networks

Abstract

Investigated the relation between turnover and communication networks in 3 fast-food restaurants. Although most research assumes an independent, stochastic quality to turnover, it was hypothesized that turnover occurs in clusters that would be significantly related to the degree to which employees occupied similar informal roles as defined by perceived communication patterns. 53 employees (average age 19 yrs) completed a communication network questionnaire. Over the next month, 12 Ss left the restaurants. A social network concept called regular equivalance was used to measure the degree to which Ss were perceived similar to each other in these communication roles. Three separate analyses were conducted, each based on different assumptions about the data. A meta-analysis across the 3 sites in all 3 analytical approaches confirmed the hypothesized relation between turnover clusters and perceived roles. (15 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)