An event history analysis of employee turnover: The case of hospital employees in Australia

This study proposes an integrated model and alternative methodology in the study of voluntary employee turnover. A causal model comprising four catego ries of variables: personal, job-related, environmental, and employee orien tations is formulated. This model is tested on a sample of 415 hospital emp loyees over a 12-month period, employing the statistical procedure of event history analysis. During this period, 88 employees voluntarily left the ho spital, representing a turnover rate of 21 percent. Consistent with expecta tions, the personal variable of kinship responsibility, the job-related var iable of autonomy and the employee orientations of job satisfaction, organi zational commitment, and intent to leave had significant effects on employe es' decision to quit. The variables of sex and age were observed to play a moderating role in the analysis. Kinship responsibility had a significant n egative relationship with turnover for females and males, and for those emp loyees older than 30 years of age. The theoretical, empirical, and practica l implications of the findings are discussed.