The effect of economic townturn on voluntary labour turnover amongst artisans in South Africa

Abstract

As with most human responses in life, voluntary turnover is also based on cause and effect. If an event or chains of events happen certain responses are triggered. In the case of voluntary turnover these responses form part of human psychological decision logic that end in a termination of employment. Each person, given their context, will display a different psychological response to similar events. A theoretical model published by Lee and Mitchell (1994) map these psychological responses into specific decision paths. This unfolding model of voluntary turnover proposes that people decide to leave an organisation through one of five distinct psychological decision pathways. An artisan shortage in South Africa is limiting growth and organisational performance within the manufacturing industry. Organisations are willing to pay a premium for skills and this is driving turnover at the artisan level. It is therefore important for managers, in this environment, to understand the drivers of artisan turnover and limit the turnover rate. This research presents results of classifying 64 artisan leavers from the South African manufacturing industry. The classification develops an artisan voluntary turnover profile as described by the unfolding model of voluntary turnover. The data used to develop this classification is extracted using quantitative techniques. The impact of the economic downturn on this voluntary turnover profile is discussed. Further analysis is also made regarding differences in voluntary turnover decisions between artisans that have experienced organizational downsizing and those that have not. Implications regarding these findings are discussed.