An unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover

We report a test of Lee and Mitchell's model of voluntary employee departure from an organization. Data gathered from interviews with nurses who had recently quit their jobs and a mailed survey were analyzed qualitatively via pattern matching and quantitatively through correlations, analysis of medians, log linear modeling, and contingency tables. Although the data generally supported the theory, several nonconfirming cases revealed ambiguities in the model and therefore opportunities for improvement. In general, the data indicated that people use different and distinct psychological processes when leaving an organization and that some of these processes may not be consistent with existing turnover theories. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.