The working conditions of the individual – in the interest of the organization? - Turnover intentions among Swedish employees

Abstract

Background and problem: Since the 1990s, the Swedish work environment has developed towards increased demands and employees experience a decreasing amount of influence over their own work. This creates job dissatisfaction, which in turn may cause employee turnover. Voluntary turnover is usually dysfunctional and costly for the organization, involving both visible and hidden costs. The Job-Demand-Control-Support model developed by Karasek and Theorell has been used to investigate how job demands, control and social support affect well-being. Few studies have investigated the organizational consequences in the form of turnover intentions. Aim of study: This thesis is concerned with how job demands and control affect turnover intentions among Swedish employees. Additionally, it investigates how social support from managers, organizational commitment and satisfaction with career opportunities alter the relationship between job demands, control, and turnover intentions. It also investigates whether the willingness to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization differs depending on the individuals’ working conditions. Methodology: The analysis is based on empirical material collected by Statistics Sweden (SCB) on behalf of the Department for Sociology at the University of Gothenburg. Analysis and conclusion: This study reveals differences in turnover intention depending on the degree of job demands and control. High demands in combination with low control (‘high strain’) cause the highest turnover intention. Social support, organizational commitment, and satisfaction with career opportunities each have a buffering effect on turnover intentions in cases of ‘high strain’. Employees in ‘high strain’ situations are the second least ready to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization.