VOLUNTARY TURNOVER AND ALTERNATIVE JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Models of voluntary turnover specify important roles for both general labor-market conditions and labor-market perceptions. Although there is consistent support for the role of general labor-market conditions, evidence on perceptions is mixed. In a national sample of young adults, both factors were related to voluntary turnover. However, the two constructs were not closely linked, possibly because labor-market perceptions are based on incomplete information. Thus, for example, despite poor general labor-market conditions, an employee may perceive ease of movement to be high, which contributes to the employee's intention to quit. Yet, the employee may not actually quit because the unfavorable general labor-market conditions act to limit the number of alternative job openings.