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Reference for Business

Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed.
Reference for Business » Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. » Eco-Ent » Employee Turnover

EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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Employee turnover occurs when employees voluntarily leave their jobs and must be replaced.
Turnover is expressed as an annual percentage of the total workforce. For example, 25 percent
employee turnover would mean that one-quarter of a company's workforce at the beginning of
the year has left by the end of the year. Turnover should not to be confused with layoffs, which
involve the termination of employees at the employer's discretion in response to business
conditions such as reduced sales or a merger with another company.
The severity of turnover varies widely by type of business and the economic health of the region
where companies are located. Innovative high-tech companies and the most successful
manufacturers frequently experience low turnover rates while fast-food restaurant managers
expect turnover to be as high as 50 to 75 percent. As another example, coal mining companies in
sparsely populated regions experience lower rates of turnover because there are few other job
opportunities.
CAUSES OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
The prospect of getting higher pay elsewhere is one of the most obvious contributors to turnover.
This practice can be regularly observed at all levels of the economic ladder, from executives and
generously paid professionals in high-stress positions to entry-level workers in relatively
undemanding jobs. However, there is considerable evidence that money is often not the root
cause of turnover, even when it is a factor in an employee's decision to quit. Rather, some experts
believe that high turnover persists in certain jobs and companies because they have an
atmosphere in which employees look for reasons to leave, and money is a convenient and
sometimes compelling justification. In one survey, for example, more than half of the
respondents didn't even list pay in the top three reasons they believed people quit their jobs.
Indeed, there is a whole school of thought that claims pay is not a direct determinant of job
satisfaction.
Most environmental contributors to turnover can be directly traced to management practices.
Turnover tends to be higher in environments where employees feel they are taken advantage of,
where they feel undervalued or ignored, and where they feel helpless or unimportant. Clearly, if
managers are impersonal, arbitrary, and demanding, there is greater risk of alienation and
turnover. Management policies can also affect the environment in basic ways such as whether
employee benefits and incentives appear generous or stingy, or whether the company is
responsive to employees' needs and wants. Management's handling of major corporate events
such as mergers or layoffs is also an important influence on the work environment afterwards.
Some turnover is demographically specific, particularly for women who are balancing significant
work and family duties at the same time. Such women (or men) may choose to leave a company
instead of sacrificing their other interests and responsibilities in order to make the job work out.
Some women elect to quit their jobs at childbirth, rather than simply taking a maternity leave.
Women's perceptions of their career paths might also be tinted by their awareness of the glass
ceiling, which may lower their level of commitment to any particular firm, since they believe
they're not in contention for top-level jobs. These factors translate into higher turnover rates for
women in many companies.
Retirement of experienced employees can cause high rates of turnover and extreme loss in
productivity, particularly in industries where there is little competition. For example, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration has expressed concern about its future launch
capability as thousands of 1970s-era "'space race" engineers simply age out of the workforce.
Work stress experienced at particular types of jobs can also create turnover. Childcare workers
watching over constantly crying children, waiters dealing with demanding dinnertime customers,
police officers in high-crime areas, and truck drivers facing long hours and heavy traffic are all
in job categories experiencing high levels of turnover.
Even seasonal changes such as the beginning of a school year can cause high turnover when part-
time, school-age employees return to their classrooms. In this case, however, turnover is less
likely to be unexpected by management. For instance, summer tourist-area restaurants likely staff
up with college-age waiters knowing that they will leave by August.
EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
High turnover can be a serious obstacle to productivity, quality, and profitability at firms of all
sizes. For the smallest of companies, a high turnover rate can mean that simply having enough
staff to fulfill daily functions is a challenge, even beyond the issue of how well the work is done
when staff is available. Turnover is no less a problem for major companies, which often spend
millions of dollars a year on turnover-related costs. For service-oriented professions, such as
management consulting or account management, high employee turnover can also lead to
customer dissatisfaction and turnover, as clients feel little attachment to a revolving contact.
Customers are also likely to experience dips in the quality of service each time their
representative changes.
The cost of turnover varies with the difficulty of the job to be performed. For example, in a food-
processing company, showing someone how to put jars of jam into a cardboard box may take
five minutes, so the cost of training someone to handle this job would not be high. If, however,
the tyrannical manager of the food processing line at the company kept driving away food
cookers and quality-control workers, the cost of constantly training employees in this critical
area could be high.
In general, reducing employee turnover saves money. Money saved from not having to find and
train replacement workers can be used elsewhere, including the bottom line of the company's
profit statement. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that it costs about 33 percent of a new
recruit's salary to replace a lost employee. In other words, it could cost $11,000 in direct training
expenses and lost productivity to replace an experienced employee making $33,000. Private
industry estimates for highly skilled jobs peg turnover losses at a much higher level, up to 150
percent of the position's annual salary.
Some research studies have found that turnover from transient workers has lasting effects on
loyal employees who stay with a company. One study tested productivity among workers who
were exposed to a management-planted person who quit in the middle of a task, citing
dissatisfaction with the job and the company. A second group of employees worked with another
planted person who had to leave the task because of illness. The group exposed to the employee
who quit had lower productivity levels than the group exposed to the ill employee. The
employees apparently took the complainer's statements to heart while the ill employee had
nothing bad to say about the company.
High turnover can sometimes be useful, though. Employers who are poor interviewers may not
discover that new employees are actually poor employees until after the workers have been on
the payroll for several weeks. Rather than go to the trouble and documentation of firing these
underperforming workers, some companies rely on turnover to weed out the bad employees.
When the learning curve is small and the consequences of always having inexperienced workers
are minimal, high turnover may not be seen as a significant problem.
. It ranges from re-engineering, rationalization of branches and business lines, increased working

hours, staff education and retraining or sometimes retrenchment and complete re-organisation.

Bank workers who are victims of management reactions are equally susceptible to stress.

Logically, there exists of the paper is organised as follows: section two four discuss the

methodology of the study and result of our survey and finally we make some concluding remarks

in section five. © Journal of Economics and Engineering, ISSN: 2078-0346, May, 2010

SEE ALSO : Employee Motivation ; Labor-Management Relations

[ Clint Johnson ]
FURTHER READING:
Caplan, Gayle, and Mary Teese. Survivors: How to Keep Your Best People on Board after
Downsizing. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1997.
Cole, Joanne. "E&Y Creates Office of Retention and Turnover Rates Drop." HR Focus, April
1999.
Griffeth, Peter Hom, and Rodger Griffeth. Employee Turnover. Cincinnati: South-Western
Publishing, 1992.
Harris, Jim, and Joan Brannick. Finding & Keeping Great Employees. New York: AMACOM,
1999.
Middlebrook, John F. "Avoiding Brain Drain: How to Lock in Talent." HR Focus, March 1999.

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User Contributions:

1
jennifer

Dec 16, 2007 @ 11:11 am

this article is amazing. It really helped me write a paper about employee turnover in the
workplace. I will be referring back to this forum in the future! Thanks!!!

2
ronald

Aug 10, 2008 @ 9:21 pm

this was a great article, it also gave me a large amount of material when writing a paper. thanks.
what year was it written

3
Danny Lim

May 16, 2009 @ 7:07 am

Thank you for the information, great article. Appreciate it.
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4 / 6 Averil (1989) argues that it is the professionalism of stress treatments (including the growth

in

professional psychology) that have created an environment where the study and experience of

stress has become ‘legitimized’, and one where ‘it is now more acceptable to admit to being

stressed than it is to deny it’ (Averil, 1989: 30). This growth in popularity has resulted in a

plethora of definitions and considerable misunderstanding and confusion over the concept of

‘stress’. As Sutherland and Cooper (2000) point out, the use of the word stress is now so

common that it is used interchangeably to refer to a state or condition, a symptom, or the cause

of a state or a symptom. For these reasons, Jones and Bright (2001) suggest that whilst this

concept may have been useful in the past, today it is more of a hindrance than an aid to insightful

analysis and understanding. Although they note criticisms of the term, the stress concept

maintains a tenacious hold and part of its appeal may be its versatility in that various definitions

and approaches can be adopted to locate the source of physical and psychological problems.

Trade unions, for example, can blame work condition and employers may look to an individual’s

inability to cope. Attempts to define stress have been many and varied (see, Kilty and Bond,

1982; Mills 1982). Stress may refer to external influences acting on individuals (Selye, 1976),
physiological reactions to such influences (Mayer 2000), psychological interpretation of both the

external influences and the physiological reactions (Code and Langan-Fox, 2001; Selye, 1983),

and adverse behavioural reactions exhibited in work, or social situations, or both (Richmond and

Kehoe, 1999; Vasse et al., 1998). Within the literature, there is a lack of agreement about how to

define stress. One of the main reasons given for this lack of agreement, is the fact that there are

many disciplines involved in stress research, such as biology, psychology, sociology, physiology

and epidemiology (for example, Buunk et. al.,1998). Many contemporary studies seeking to

understand stress, however, are based on Lazarus andFolkman’s (1984) transactional

perspective, which describes stress as a process where strain occurs when demands in the

environment are perceived to exceed the resources of the individual. In this article, we adopt

elements of Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) position in recognising that stress is the result of a

particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the

person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being. That is,

stress is viewed as residing neither solely in the individual nor in the environment but in the

transaction between the two. Although our emphasis in this article rests on the contextual and

perceptual influences on stress in the workplace, the individual and psychological dimensions are

recognised and have been discussed in further detail elsewhere (Oke, 2006). For the purposes of

this article however, we examine the workplace experience of stress of banking employees in

Nigeria; but first, we discuss some of the major workplace stressors that have been identified in

the literature

Causes of workplace stress

Stress may be related to personal attributes and individual circumstances outside
the workplace, such as family and relationship problems. However, three recent
studies sponsored respectively by the European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions (Third European survey on working conditions,
2001 - EU0101292F), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
("Research on work-related stress", T Cox, A Griffiths and E Rial-Gonzalez, April
2000), and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions ("Workplace stress in Ireland", J
Armstrong, 2001) conclude that the main causes of workplace stress are related to
deficiencies in the design and management of work. Some of the main findings
from these three studies are compiled below. With regard to the causes of stress,
they identify the following factors.
• Training and career development. A failure to provide employees with
opportunities for career development, and adequate training to enhance their
employability, may promote stress.
• Failure to provide workers with significant autonomy and control over their
day-to-day work tasks can promote stress. Trusting workers and
"empowering" them to make decisions is more likely to promote a positive
response than if management attempts to control everything.
• Work intensification, long hours, and tight deadlines. Workers may become
stressed when they feel they have no control over work pace, they work
excessive hours, or they are under significant pressure to meet deadlines.
• Poorly defined and designed work roles and tasks may cause stress. Clearly
defined work roles, and variation in work tasks within work roles, are likely
to alleviate stress.
• Irregular work schedules. Unpredictable work schedules, particularly
frequent changes in shiftworking, may cause stress.
• Workers in insecure, "casualised" forms of employment are more likely to
suffer stress.
• Poor work environment. Physical features of the work environment, such as
poorly designed workspace and poor ventilation, may promote stress.
• An inadequate work-life balance. The failure to accommodate workers'
interests and responsibilities outside the workplace is a significant cause of
stress.
• Insufficient staffing levels.
• Exposure to workplace restructuring and "rationalisation".
• Unhealthy interpersonal relationships. Worker's who are bullied, harassed or
isolated, and who do not feel supported by managers or colleagues, may
experience stress.
Consequences of workplace stress
The three studies conclude that workplace stress may have a number of negative
consequences for both workers and employers, as follows.
 • Workers may abuse alcohol and drugs, and be more prone to accidents and
physical and mental illness.
• Workplace stress is increasingly an issue for litigation, which can entail
significant costs.
• Workplace stress causes millions of working days to be lost through
"absenteeism" each year, which represents a significant cost to employers.
Far more days are lost through workplace stress than through industrial
action, a fact that is frequently overlooked.
• Stress may promote higher labour turnover, and employers may have
difficulty retaining staff.
• Stress may cause workers to lose morale and become less motivated and
committed, which may result in lower productivity.
• Stress may promote increased industrial relations problems.
Preventing and eliminating workplace stress
So what can be done to prevent and eliminate workplace stress? Some
organisations have introduced various stress reduction programmes, such as
courses in yoga, to tackle stress. However, these programmes may only go a
certain distance in tackling stress because, although they may be useful for
addressing the outcomes of stress, they do not address the causes. In other words,
they are reactive rather than preventative. The European Agency for Safety and
Health at Work study cited above concludes that new approaches to the
organisation and management of work would appear to be required, in order to
prevent and eliminate stress. These include:
• designing stimulating jobs that provide workers with variety and allow them
to use their creativity and skill. This may incorporate various forms of job
rotation and job enrichment;
• reducing close management control and providing workers with greater
autonomy over their own work, and involving them in decisions that affect
their jobs;
• consulting and communicating openly with workers at different levels on a
regular basis;
• making sure that workers have some prospect of career development and
providing them with adequate training;
• making sure that workers have an adequate balance between their work
responsibilities and their interests and responsibilities outside work.
"Employee-friendly" flexible forms of working are likely to be important
here, as are childcare provisions;
 • managing and organising work in a coherent and competent manner, so that
workers have clear roles and know what is expected of them;
• organising work to allow workers to interact with their peers; and
• making sure that work pressure is not too intense, allowing workers to
control the pace at which they work, and avoiding setting unrealistic
deadlines and targets.
Commentary
As Ireland's booming economy continues to generate strong levels of growth and
prosperity, many politicians and business leaders appear to be increasingly
attracted to the free market "US model" of economic and workplace governance.
Critics of the US model state, however, that it promotes negative outcomes, such
as: wide discrepancies between "winners" and "losers" and "rich" and "poor";
limited worker protection against unscrupulous employers; a "long hours" work
culture; work intensification; and workplace stress. It is certainly the case that
certain aspects of the US model have permeated into Irish society in recent years,
and the impact has not been wholly positive. For instance, workplace stress has
intensified in a number of Irish workplaces.
The main causes of workplace stress appear to be linked to deficiencies in the
management and organisation of work, and to too little attention being paid to the
interests and rights of workers. In particular, many workers are currently finding it
difficult to juggle the balance between the demands of work and their life outside
the workplace. Many of the causes of workplace stress are linked to violations of
the so-called "psychological contract" between employers and individual workers.
The "psychological contract" is implicit and incorporates a number of reciprocal
expectations and obligations that may develop between employers and workers in a
particular workplace. Perceived employer violations of the "psychological
contract" may promote workplace stress, which, in turn, may have a number of
detrimental consequences for both workers and employers, including: accidents
and illness; chronic absenteeism; increased labour turnover; reduced commitment,
morale and motivation; and lower productivity (Tony Dobbins, CEROP, UCD).

STRESS IN WORKPLACE : FAST FACTS :

STRESS IN WORKPLACE : FAST FACTS 51% of Canadian employees experience a great deal of
stress at work. 25% of these employees have been physically ill from workplace stress. Aventis
Healthcare Survey 2002 The annual cost to Canadian companies due to stress-related disorders is $12
billion, absenteeism due to stress has increased by over 300% since 1995. Statistics Canada Stress at work
costs the UK economy over £7 billion each year. TUC report, 2004 Work-related stress is the leading
cause of employee absence through injury or ill health. CIPD study, 2004 UK A total of 12.8 million
working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2004/5. HSE UK website Research shows 83
per cent of employers believe stress is interfering with productivity levels. 'Stress in the UK workplace’,
Personnel Today/HSE Stress accounts for $26 billion in medical and disability payments and $95 billion
in lost productivity per year ,Over 50% of lost work days are stress related which keeps about 1 million
people per day from attending work. Occupational Health and Safety news/National Council on
Compensation Insurance (USA)

WHAT IS JOB STRESS? :

WHAT IS JOB STRESS? “Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that
occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.
Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.’’ United States National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health, Cincinnati, 1999 Source - OGP: Managing Workplace Stress

PRIMARY CAUSE OF JOB STRESS :

PRIMARY CAUSE OF JOB STRESS It’s a matter of perspective: Worker characteristics Working
conditions The chicken or the egg? Source: CDC – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(Publication 99-101)

CAUSES OF JOB STRESS :

CAUSES OF JOB STRESS Worker characteristics: Personality Type A Competitiveness Time urgency
Hostility *What is stressful for one person may not be a problem for someone else* Type B Moderate
ambitiousness Accommodating attitude Focus on quality over quantity

CAUSES OF JOB STRESS :

CAUSES OF JOB STRESS The more skilled at job, the less is stress. – Worker characteristics: Job skill
Inadequate skills leads to increased work stress.

CAUSES OF JOB STRESS :

CAUSES OF JOB STRESS Worker characteristics: Social support Having close friends and family on
whom you can count has far-reaching benefits for your health. Benefits of a social support network Sense
of belonging. Increased sense of self-worth. Helps ward off loneliness. Feeling of security. Source: Mayo
Clinic
OTHER WORK-RELATED STRESSORS :
OTHER WORK-RELATED STRESSORS Lack of control; Time/deadline pressure; Poor relationships;
Excessive travel; Lack of consultation/communication; Work overload; Understaffing; Organizational
change; and Threat of redundancy Working conditions: Source - OGP: Managing Workplace Stress

SOME OCCUPATIONS WITH HIGH STRESS LEVELS :

SOME OCCUPATIONS WITH HIGH STRESS LEVELS Occupation Rating Miner 8.3 Police officer
7.7 Prison officer 7.5 Construction worker 7.5 Airline pilot 7.5 Journalist 7.5 Advertising executive 7.3
Dentist 7.3 Actor 7.2 Doctor 6.8 Broadcasting personnel 6.8 Nurse 6.5 Film production crew 6.5
Ambulance personnel 6.3 Musician 6.3 Firefighter 6.3 Teacher 6.2 Social worker 6.0 Personnel manager
6.0 Source: Conditions of work digest: Preventing stress at work Don’t forget Offshore workers Female
workers

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? :

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? Health problems Physical injuries Psychological effects Burnout
Health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress. —Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? :

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? Heart disease Autoimmune diseases Ulcers Arthritis Infectious
diseases Mental illnesses Sprains and strains Health problems Source :CUPE - Enough Workplace Stress:
Organizing for Change

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? :

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? “of all the factors related to the causes of accidents, only one
emerged as a common denominator: a high level of stress at the time the accident occurred” International
Labour Organisation (ILO) 2. Physical injuries

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? :

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? 3. Psychological effects Depression Headaches Absenteeism
Post-traumatic stress disorder Use of alcohol and drugs

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? :

WHAT DOES STRESS DO TO YOU? Results from overwork. Includes, Emotional Exhaustion
Depersonalization Reduced sense of personal accomplishment Quantity of work may stay the same, but
the quality declines, depression, apathy, irritability, and boredom may occur 4. Burnout
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF STRESS :
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS OF STRESS Source - OGP: Managing Workplace Stress Examples
of various signs and symptoms of stress

HOW MUCH JOB STRESS DO YOU HAVE? :

HOW MUCH JOB STRESS DO YOU HAVE? Provided by The American Institute of Stress

TRIPLE ‘A’ CONCEPT OF STRESS PREVENTION :

TRIPLE ‘A’ CONCEPT OF STRESS PREVENTION Hopefully by now you are Aware of your stress
level Analysis and Identification of root cause of job stress Self Identification/Assessment/Discussion
Inform your manager / HR department Develop and implement Action plans At different levels such as
team, department, division or individual with periodic review. Stress prevention in the offshore oil and
gas exploration and production industry .Dr. Valerie J. Sutherland, Professor Cary L. Cooper

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT JOB STRESS :

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT JOB STRESS Preventing Stress at Work: A Comprehensive Approach
Prepared by a NIOSH working group

STRESS MANAGEMENT :
STRESS MANAGEMENT Stress Management Training Nature and sources of stress The effects of
stress on health Personal skills to reduce stress Time management Relaxation exercises Employee
assistance program (EAP) + Individual counseling For work and personal problems Learn to manage your
time more effectively Adopt a healthy lifestyle Know your limitations and do not take on too much Find
out what causes you stress Avoid unnecessary conflict Accept the things you cannot change Take time
out to relax and recharge your batteries Find time to meet friends Try to see things differently, develop a
positive thinking style Avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine as coping mechanisms Source: International
Stress Management Association UK Stress Busting Tips

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE :
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Ensure that the workload is in line with workers’ capabilities and
resources. Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to use their skills.
Clearly define workers’ roles and responsibilities. Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions
and actions affecting their jobs. Improve communications—reduce uncertainty about career development
and future employment prospects. Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers. Establish
work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job. How to Change the
Organization to Prevent Job Stress: Basics —American Psychologist
STRESS PREVENTION IN THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY :
STRESS PREVENTION IN THE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY One of the main reasons
why the offshore environment is potentially stressful is because the workforce lives and works in a
restricted location for a significant period of time without a break. Mismanaged stress can lead to:
Illhealth Forced early retirement Absenteeism High premature death High labour-turnover Poor
performance and productivity Unsatisfactory employee relations Job dissatisfaction, accident
vulnerability Alcohol problems and Divorce etc. Considering the cost of mismanaged stress an effective
system should be in place to prevent and deal with stress which should involve the individual and
organization followed by careful Stress Audit. Stress prevention in the offshore oil and gas exploration
and production industry .Dr. Valerie J. Sutherland, Professor Cary L. Cooper

SUMMARY: STRESS DOS AND DON’TS :

SUMMARY: STRESS DOS AND DON’TS Regard stress as a health and safety hazard. Evaluate the
stress hazards in your workplace using the survey techniques. Take your breaks to give your body and
mind time to recover from the rigours of work. Start work on time and leave work on time. Refuse unsafe
stressful work situations. Report stress hazards. Put stress on the agenda at joint health and safety
meetings in your workplace. Participate with co workers to share knowledge, experience and solutions to
eliminate stress. Do: Suffer in silence. Become isolated from your co workers. Tolerate stress hazards in
any form. Work beyond your means. Work through your breaks. Work at an accelerated pace. Ignore the
health and safety effects of stress. Leave solutions to stress up to your employer. Let stress issues fall off
the table at joint health and safety committee meetings. Don’t: Source :CUPE - Enough Workplace
Stress: Organizing for Change

CAUSES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON ABSENTEEISM AND LABOUR

TURNOVER
First, one of the reasons causing HTT employees absent from their workplace as
well as increasing labour turnover is job stress which are generated at workplace.
Job stress is a chronic disease caused by conditions in the workplace that
negatively affect an individual`s performance or overall well-being of his body as
well as mind (Life Positive Foundation, n.d.). In general, job stress is most
commonly experienced and suffered by the entry-level job holders of HTT. It is
because career applications for entry-level positions of HTT are typically offering
the first work experience and to seek for fresh graduates. Fresh graduates gradually
realize that there is a gap between what is taught in the school and what is
happening in the real workplace after them enrolling as employees of HTT. For
example, there are a few of HTT newcomers who are just completing their studies
in college or universities, unable to apply their theoretical knowledge and skills
onto their actual job as well as they find out there are some difficulties to perform
their job well. They are so frustrated and become less motivated. As a result, they
start practicing absent from workplace and some of them even end up with
resigning from HTT Company. Hence it is essential for HTT human resources
practitioner to identify the actual problems occurring among these freshmen. In
fact they face difficulties in workplace is because they lack of adequate and
appropriate skills and competences. To overcome these problems, training and
personal development have to provide to the newcomers to learn and enhance their
skills to do the job. According to Hayes D.K. & Ninemeier J.D., 2009, training is
defined as a systematic process of providing employee with competencies, such as
knowledge, skills and abilities to do their current jobs. For example, HTT new
employees are trained by role playing method which they can learn on how to
handle a series of...

HOW TO REDUCE LABOUR TURNOVER IN YOUR WORKPLACE

« on: November 10, 2008, 11:11:38 AM »

All organisations can expect some degree of absence and labour turnover. Labour turnover is the term
used to describe a situation in which employees leave an organisation and need to be replaced. It refers to
the movement of employees in and out of a business.

It is important to point out that, labour turnover need not always be a negative phenomenon as it creates
opportunities to introduce better work practices and procedures, new ideas to the organisation, as well as
providing career development opportunities for existing workers.

High labour turnover causes problems for business. It is costly, lowers productivity and morale, disrupts
the flow of work, damages the organisation's reputation and if left unchecked, it can become a 'vicious
circle'. The actual costs of high labour turnover are difficult to estimate, but the accompanying formulae
can you help derive a self assessment of your vulnerability.

The "separation rate" and is calculated as follows:

Number of exits

Average no employed x 100

As an alternative, you can calculate your "Stability Index", which is the extent to which your experienced
workforce is retained.

Number of employees with one or more years' service now

Number employed one year ago x 100

Identifying patterns of turnover

High levels of labour turnover affect both employer and workers, it is therefore important that policies are
developed jointly to reverse the trend. Before action is taken, it important to identify the pattern of
turnover. This investigation should focus on the following;

- is there really a problem?

- Are particular groups affected - e. g. : a particular sex, ethnic group or religious affiliation?

- Does the problem extend throughout the whole organisation or is it confined to one or two departments
or functions?

- How many workers are involved - only a few, or a large number, indicating a general problem?

- What kind of explanations/suggestions are given by former employees during the exit interview?

Majority of employees believe that they are not adequately compensated; and often times to the
disadvantage of their employers unfavourably compare their pay with other companies in the same
industry or locality. Though is belief in very subjective, the pay structures of some organisations are
appalling and not at all proportional to their earnings!

This is not to suggest that pay is the major culprit for labour turnover, issues such as lack of motivation,
inadequate work challenges, lackluster leadership, favouritism and the improving economy are some of
the reasons why turnover is on the increase.

Although some factors are outside management's control, they also cannot be expected to adjust pay each
time a competitor conducts a pay review: the following will provide a quick evaluation of your
organisation's preparedness to check high labour turnover.

Compensation:

Is there a structured compensation system; is it fair and clearly understood?

Is there a hidden agenda with pay and compensation?

Job evaluation

Are the jobs clearly documented?

Do they eliminate inconsistencies in pay?

Equal opportunities

Are there policies to prevent discrimination on the grounds of sex, age or religion?
Are policies on equal opportunities and discrimination observed?

Internal Communication

Are employees kept abreast with, new developments, changes in management policies?

Is there an effective communications system or does everyone rely on the 'grapevine'?

Management skills

Are managers and supervisors fully trained?

Are they competent to deal with the human aspects, as well as the technical requirements of their job?

Discipline

Is there a proper disciplinary procedure, known to everyone?

Are managers and supervisors given adequate training in its use?

Are there 'sacred cows' in your organisation?

Appraisal

is your appraisal system proactive or punitive?

Are employees given the opportunity to freely discuss freely with their managers, any conditions or
constraints affecting their work and progress?

Training and Staff Development is on the job training regularly provided to 'all' or 'some' employees?

Is there a visible, functional training plan?

By now, you must have obtained your vulnerability assessment from reviewing the proceeding questions.
To start making amends, the following guidelines will help you develop a high labour turnover insulation
plan for your organisation.

Exit interviews

Exit interviews provide a deep insight into reasons for exits. They also help in highlight problem areas
within the organisation.

Although there is the risk of employees not disclosing the real reasons for leaving, or their true views
about the organisation. To minimise 'distortion' it is beneficial to maintain confidentiality of their views,
as well as conduct the interviews in a neutral environment.
Employee Attitude surveys

Employee attitude surveys present opportunities for identifying the perception of employees towards
work policies. It provides and insight into employee perception about management, work issues, pay,
employee relations, equal opportunities, communication, training and career prospects within the
organisation.

Remuneration Surveys

Remuneration surveys serve as a window into the compensation practices of the job market. They are
valuable in the computation of basic salaries, perquisites and other fringe benefits offered to staff.
Remuneration surveys enhance the real income of employees to accommodate cash flow based on
economic conditions, as well as for making compensation more tax efficient.

Effective Internal Communication

There is need to steadily give employees the true picture of events and activities within the organisation.
It fosters trust, and a sense of belonging in employees. In the event that the organisation experiences a
down turn in its events, open internal communication will prevent the situation from becoming
unmanageable. It is best practice to make budgets, progress reports and situation analysis reports
accessible to all employees irrespective of their levels.

Recruitment and selection

The recruitment process should focus less on 'optics', concentrate more on qualification, trainability and
relevant experience to perform effectively on the job. It is also important that management is cautious not
to set unnecessarily high standards as overqualified candidates may quickly get bored with jobs and move
on to more challenging or financially gratifying positions in competitor organisations.

Induction

A good impression of the organisation helps new workers settle down and learn their jobs quickly. New
employees require a great deal of information to enable them settle down and feel a part of the
organisation. Like the crucial formative years in a child, the effectiveness of the induction training
programme plays an important role in the future actions of employees.

The induction programme should be developed to address employees' welfare issues, pay, hours of work,
introduction to management and colleagues as well as fire and safety regulations.

It is also a best practice to develop induction programmes to support employees; entering employment for
the first time, returning to work after long periods of absence from paid employment and employees with
physical challenges.

Training
Training is a right for all employees and not a special privilege to be granted at the discretion of
management!

Training may be on or off the job; whichever the case, it should empower and enable employees to
perform creditably on their jobs. For management, it is a proactive and cost effective method of
maintaining work standards and at the same time contributing to the professional and personal
development of employees.

In conclusion, dealing effectively with labour turnover calls for the continuous and collective efforts of all
stakeholders in the organisation. While establishing its causes and devising solutions, there is need to
seek external support to enable management devise strategies that will provide lasting, and long term
solutions to high labour turnover.

Stress at Work
How to Reduce and Manage Job and Workplace Stress

In this difficult economy, you may find it harder than ever to cope with challenges on the job.
Both the stress we take with us when we go to work and the stress that awaits us on the job are
on the rise – and employers, managers, and workers all feel the added pressure. While some
stress is a normal part of life, excessive stress interferes with your productivity and reduces your
physical and emotional health, so it’s important to find ways to keep it under control.
Fortunately, there is a lot that you can do to manage and reduce stress at work.
In This Article:
• Coping with work stress
• Warning signs
• Taking care of yourself
• Prioritizing and organizing
• Improving emotional intelligence
• Breaking bad habits
 • What managers or employers can do
• Related links

Print Authors

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Coping with work stress in today’s uncertain climate
For workers everywhere, the troubled economy may feel like an emotional roller coaster.
"Layoffs" and "budget cuts" have become bywords in the workplace, and the result is increased
fear, uncertainty, and higher levels of stress. Since job and workplace stress grow in times of
economic crisis, it’s important to learn new and better ways of coping with the pressure. The
ability to manage stress in the workplace can make the difference between success or failure on
the job. Your emotions are contagious, and stress has an impact on the quality of your
interactions with others. The better you are at managing your own stress, the more you'll
positively affect those around you and the less other people's stress will negatively affect you.
You can learn how to manage job stress
There are a variety of steps you can take to reduce both your overall stress levels and the stress
you find on the job and in the workplace. These include:
• Taking responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being.
• Avoiding pitfalls by identifying knee jerk habits and negative attitudes that add to the stress you
experience at work.
• Learning better communication skills to ease and improve your relationships with management
and coworkers.

Warning signs of excessive stress at work

When people feel overwhelmed, they lose confidence and become irritable or withdrawn,
making them less productive and effective and their work less rewarding. If the warning signs of
work stress go unattended, they can lead to bigger problems. Beyond interfering with job
performance and satisfaction, chronic or intense stress can also lead to physical and emotional
health problems.
Signs and symptoms of excessive job and workplace stress
• Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed • Muscle tension orheadaches
• Apathy, loss of interest in work. • Stomach problems
• Problems sleeping • Social withdrawal
• Fatigue, • Loss of sex drive
• Trouble concentrating • Using alcohol or drugs to cope

Common causes of excessive workplace stress

• Fear of layoffs
• Increased demands for overtime due to staff cutbacks
• Pressure to perform to meet rising expectations but with no increase in job satisfaction
 • Pressure to work at optimum levels – all the time!

Reducing job stress by taking care of yourself

When stress on the job is interfering with your ability to work, care for yourself, or manage your
personal life, it’s time to take action. Start by paying attention to your physical and emotional
health. When your own needs are taken care of, you’re stronger and more resilient to stress. The
better you feel, the better equipped you’ll be to manage work stress without becoming
overwhelmed.
Taking care of yourself doesn’t require a total lifestyle overhaul. Even small things can lift your
mood, increase your energy, and make you feel like you’re back in the driver’s seat. Take things
one step at a time, and as you make more positive lifestyle choices, you’ll soon notice a
noticeable difference in your stress level, both at home at work.
Get moving
Aerobic exercise –perspiring -is an effective anti-anxiety treatment lifting mood, increasing
energy, sharpening focus and relaxing mind and body. For maximum stress relief, try to get at
least 30 minutes of hear pounding activity on most days but activity can be broken up into two or
three short segments.
For more information, see Making Exercise Fun.
Make food choices that keep you going and make you feel good
Eating small but frequent meals throughout the day maintains an even level of blood sugar in
your body. Low blood sugar makes you feel anxious and irritable. On the other hand, eating too
much can make you lethargic.
To learn more about food that have a calming effect, lift your mood and make you feel good, see
Tips for a Healthy Diet.
Drink alcohol in moderation and avoid nicotine
Alcohol temporarily reduces anxiety and worry, but too much can cause anxiety as it wears off.
Drinking to relieve job stress can also start you on a path to alcohol abuse and dependence.
Similarly, smoking when you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed may seem calming, but
nicotine is a powerful stimulant – leading to higher, not lower, levels of anxiety.
Get enough sleep
Stress and worry can cause insomnia. But lack of sleep also leaves you vulnerable to stress.
When you're sleep deprived, your ability to handle stress is compromised. When you're well-
rested, it's much easier to keep your emotional balance, a key factor in coping with job and
workplace stress.
For more information, see Tips for a Good Night's Sleep.
Reducing job stress by prioritizing and organizing
When job and workplace stress surrounds you, you can’t ignore it, but there are simple steps you
can take to regain control over yourself and the situation. Your growing sense of self-control will
also be perceived by others as the strength it is, leading to better relationships at work. Here are
some suggestions for reducing job stress by prioritizing and organizing your responsibilities.
Time management tips for reducing job stress
• Create a balanced schedule. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. All work
and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social
activities and solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.
• Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much
into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take. If you've got too much
on your plate, distinguish between the "shoulds" and the "musts." Drop tasks that aren't truly
necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.
• Try to leave earlier in the morning. Even 10-15 minutes can make the difference between
frantically rushing to your desk and having time to ease into your day. Don’t add to your stress
levels by running late.
• Plan regular breaks. Make sure to take short breaks throughout the day to sit back and clear
your mind. Also try to get away from your desk for lunch. Stepping away from work to briefly
relax and recharge will help you be more, not less, productive.

Task management tips for reducing job stress

• Prioritize tasks. Make a list of tasks you have to do, and tackle them in order of importance. Do
the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant to do, get it over with
early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.
• Break projects into small steps. If a large project seems overwhelming, make a step-by-step
plan. Focus on one manageable step at a time, rather than taking on everything at once.
• Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself, whether at home, school, or on the
job. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or
oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

Reducing workplace stress by improving emotional

intelligence
Even if you’re in a job where the environment has grown increasingly stressful, you can retain a
large measure of self-control and self-confidence by understanding and practicing emotional
intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage and use your emotions in positive
and constructive ways. It's about communicating with others in ways that draw people to you,
overcome differences, repair wounded feelings, and defuse tension and stress.
Emotional intelligence in the workplace:
Emotional intelligence in the workplace has four major components:
• Self-awareness – The ability to recognize your emotions and their impact while using gut
feelings to guide your decisions.
• Self-management – The ability to control your emotions and behavior and adapt to changing
circumstances.
• Social awareness – The ability to sense, understand, and react to other's emotions and feel
comfortable socially.
• Relationship management – The ability to inspire, influence, and connect to others and manage
conflict.
 Reducing stress in the workplace with emotional intelligence
The more emotional intelligence you have, the more stress you can avoid in the workplace.
Fortunately, emotional intelligence is not something we’re born with; it’s something we can
learn and develop.
To learn how to increase your emotional intelligence, read Five Key Skills for Raising Your
Emotional Intelligence.
The skill set that enables you to acquire these capabilities can be learned but requires the
development of emotional and nonverbal ways of communicating that include:
• Learning to recognize your particular stress response and become familiar with sensual cues that
can rapidly calm and energize you.
• Staying connected to your internal emotional experience so you can appropriately manage your
own emotions. Knowing what you are feeling will not only add to your self confidence and
improve your self control but enhance your understanding of others and help you build more
satisfying relationships.
• Learning to recognize and effectively use the nonverbal cues that make up 95-98% of your
communication process including eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice, posture , gesture
and touch. Its not what you say but how you say it that impacts others –for better or worse.
• Developing the capacity to meet challenges with humor. There is no better stress buster than a
hardy laugh and nothing reduces stress quicker in the workplace than mutually shared humor.
But, if the laugh is at someone else’s expense, you may end up with more rather than less stress.
• Learning to navigate conflict by becoming a good listener and someone who can face conflict
fearlessly with the expectation that differences resolved will strengthen the relationship.

Reducing workplace stress by breaking bad habits

As you learn to manage your job stress and improve your work relationships, you’ll have more
control over your ability to think clearly and act appropriately. You will be able to break habits
that add to your stress at work – and you’ll even be able to change negative ways of thinking
about things that only add to your stress.
Eliminate self-defeating behaviors
Many of us make job stress worse with patterns of thought or behavior that keep us from
relieving pressure on ourselves. If you can turn around these self-defeating habits, you’ll find
employer-imposed stress easier to handle.
• Resist perfectionism. No project, situation, or decision is ever perfect, and you put undue stress
on yourself by trying to do everything perfectly. When you set unrealistic goals for yourself or try
to do too much, you’re setting yourself up to fall short. Do your best, and you’ll do fine.
• Clean up your act. If you’re always running late, set your clocks and watches fast and give
yourself extra time. If your desk is a mess, file and throw away the clutter; just knowing where
everything is saves time and cuts stress. Make to-do lists and cross off items as you accomplish
them. Plan your day and stick to the schedule — you’ll feel less overwhelmed.
 • Flip your negative thinking. If you see the downside of every situation and interaction, you’ll
find yourself drained of energy and motivation. Try to think positively about your work, avoid
negative-thinking co-workers, and pat yourself on the back about small accomplishments, even if
no one else does.

Find Ways to Dispel Stress

• Get time away. If you feel stress building, take a break. Walk away from the situation. Take a
stroll around the block, sit on a park bench, or spend a few minutes meditating. Exercise does
wonders for the psyche. But even just finding a quiet place and listening to your iPod can reduce
stress.
• Talk it out. Sometimes the best stress-reducer is simply sharing your stress with someone close
to you. The act of talking it out – and getting support and empathy from someone else – is often
an excellent way of blowing off steam and reducing stress.
• Cultivate allies at work. Just knowing you have one or more co-workers who are willing to
assist you in times of stress will reduce your stress level. Just remember to reciprocate and help
them when they are in need.
• Find humor in the situation. When you – or the people around you – start taking things too
seriously, find a way to break through with laughter. Share a joke or funny story.
Adapted from Quintessential Careers
What managers or employers can do to reduce stress at
work
It's in a manager's best interest to keep stress levels in the workplace to a minimum. Managers
must act as positive role models, especially in times of high stress. All of the tips mentioned in
this article are twice as important for managers to follow. If someone that we admire remains
calm, it is much easier to remain calm ourselves – and vice versa! There are also organizational
changes that managers and employers can make to reduce workplace stress.
Improve communication
• Share information with employees to reduce uncertainty about their jobs and futures.
• Clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities.
• Make communication friendly and efficient, not mean-spirited or petty.

Consult your employees

• Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions that affect their jobs.
• Consult employees about scheduling and work rules.
• Be sure the workload is suitable to employees’ abilities and resources; avoid unrealistic
deadlines.
• Show that individual workers are valued.

Offer rewards and incentives

• Praise good work performance verbally and institutionally.
• Provide opportunities for career development.
• Promote an “entrepreneurial” work climate that gives employees more control over their work.
Cultivate a friendly social climate
• Provide opportunities for social interaction among employees.
• Establish a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.
• Make management actions consistent with organizational values.

Related Articles

Stress Management
How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress

Preventing Burnout
Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies

More Helpguide Articles:

• Finding the Best Job for You: Defining the Career That Works for You
• Understanding Stress: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects
• Quick Stress Relief: How to Manage and Relieve Stress in the Moment

Need More Help?

Bring Your Life Into Balance: Emotional Skills Toolkit

Feeling overwhelmed by stress and the pressures of daily life? This toolkit can help you regain
your emotional balance.
Go to Toolkit »
Related links for job and workplace stress
General information about stress at work
STRESS … At Work – Highlights current knowledge about the causes of stress at work and
outlines steps that can be taken to prevent it. (National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health)
Stress at Work– Advisory booklet offers help and advice for anyone dealing with job and
workplace stress. (Acas)
Workplace Stress – Describes the signs, causes, and effects of stress in general and on the job,
and how management and employees can deal with workplace stress. (Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health and Safety)
Stress in the Workplace: A Costly Epidemic – Delineates the causes and costs of workplace
stress and also includes ideas for coping with stress on the job. Includes warning signs of stress
(to the left of the article). (Fairleigh Dickinson University)
Managing and reducing job stress
Stress Management – Document by England’s Chartered Management Institute covers job stress
management and quick stress reduction tips. (businessballs.com)
Managing Job Stress: 10 Strategies for Coping and Thriving at Work – From a career advice and
job-search site, describing stress management techniques for the workplace. (Quintessential
Careers)
Stress in the Workplace – Workplace stress from the employee’s point of view; gives
suggestions for gaining control over some aspects of one’s job. (American Psychological
Association)
Managing Job Stress – Readable, employee-centered site providing a wealth of strategies for
reducing workplace stress. (Portland Community College)
Work stress tips for employers and managers
Reducing Occupational Stress – Guide for managers and supervisors on how to make changes in
the workplace to reduce stress. (Job Stress Network)
Reducing Stress in the Workplace – Presented from management’s point of view, this article
offers strategies for stress reduction that benefit employees and corporations alike. (The Institute
for Management Excellence)
Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., Laura Horwitz, Ellen Jaffe-Gill, M.A., Melinda Smith, M.A., and Robert
Segal, M.A., contributed to this article. Last modified: November 2010
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