The Effects of Turnover on the Productivity of Those Who Stay

Abstract

The effects of employee turnover on the productivity of those who remain were examined. In a laboratory investigation, subjects completed a proofreading task. A confederate quit the task during a break, citing either illness or dissatisfaction and a desire for greater rewards elsewhere as the reasons for his or her departure. The subjects then worked on a second proofreading task, after which they completed a questionnaire about their attitudes toward the study. The subjects who were exposed to the dissatisfied confederate proofread significantly less material on the second task than the subjects who were exposed to the ill confederate did. The findings are interpreted in terms of equity theory: A departing colleague can arouse inequity in a stayer that results in a drop in productivity.