Labor turnover as a function of worker differences, work environment, and authoritarianism of foremen

Abstract

THE LABOR TURNOVER RATE OF MALE PRODUCTION WORKERS OF A TELEVISION PICTURE-TUBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY WAS STUDIED WITH RESPECT TO: BIOGRAPHICAL DATA, WORK ENVIRONMENT, AND AUTHORITARIANISM OF FOREMEN. IT WAS FOUND THAT WORKERS WHO TERMINATED THEIR EMPLOYMENT WITHIN 1 YR. WERE YOUNGER, HAD MORE JOBS IN THE 2 YR. PRECEDING THEIR EMPLOYMENT WITH THE COMPANY, AND HAD HIGHER HOURLY WAGES ON THEIR LAST JOB, AS COMPARED WITH WORKERS WHO MAINTAINED THEIR EMPLOYMENT FOR MORE THAN 1 YR. ALTHOUGH THE TURNOVER RATE WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER ON THE 2ND AND 3RD SHIFTS AS COMPARED WITH THE 1ST SHIFT, NO DIFFERENCE IN RATES WAS FOUND AMONG THE 6 WORK SECTIONS WHICH DIFFERED CONSIDERABLY IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL WORK CONDITIONS. THE MAJOR FACTOR FOUND TO BE RELATED TO LABOR TURNOVER WAS THE DEGREE OF AUTHORITARIANISM OF THE 12 FOREMEN OF THE WORK SECTIONS, I.E., TURNOVER RATE CORRELATED .76 WITH AUTHORITARIANISM RATINGS OF THE FOREMEN. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)