ATTRITION IN SWEDISH FORESTRY WORK FROM 1986 TO 1990 - EXTENT AND CAUSES

The results in this paper are based on a combined quantitative and qua litative study of persons who have quit forestry jobs in Sweden. Quitt ing a job can be voluntary or forced. The aim of the study was to dete rmine the rate of attrition during the period 1986-1990 and describe t he reasons why some quit before the age of retirement. In total, 267 p ersons answered a questionnaire and 15 were interviewed personally. Th e respondents were categorized as former company employees, former con tractor employees, and former contractors. The results showed that wor kers employed by forestry enterprises quit at a higher rate than the i ndustrial average for Sweden. In contrast, the termination rate of con tractors and their employees was lower than the industrial average. Th e most often cited reason for quitting was health complaints. Former c ontractor employees quit mainly because they were dissatisfied with th eir salary or because of work scarcity. The contractors cited financia l reasons to the same high extent as health complaints. As many as 42% of all terminations were voluntary.