Job embeddedness

Overview

Interestingly, research indicates that individuals who feel a sense of connection to their community are less inclined to leave their job voluntarily (Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001). This finding is not entirely intuitive, because connections to the community could, arguably, have provided the support that is necessary to withstand the trauma of departure. Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez (2001) developed a concept, called job emdeddedness, which describes the networks that encourage individuals to remain at their organization.

Description

Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez (2001) introduced the concept of job emdeddedness to explain the reasons that individuals stay at an organization. These authors argued that individuals to remain at the organization partly because they feel connected to a social web.

In particular, Mitchell et al. (2001) argued that three key facet affect the extent to which individuals feel embedded in this web. The first factor reflects the extent to which individuals feel linked to other people or activities, referred to as links. The number of teams or committees on which the individuals work, the number of colleagues with whom they interact, and the number of years in their position all determine the level of linkages.

The second factor reflects the level of congruence, or fit, between their jobs and other facets of their life. The extent to which their job utilizes their skills and talents, the degree to which their values and preferences match the culture and climate of their organization, and whether or not they feel valued all determine the level of fit.

The third factor corresponds to the extent to which links could be severed-the sacrifices they would incur if they left the organization. The benefits, opportunities, provisions, autonomy, pay, and security of this job relative to other positions shapes this assessment of sacrifices.

For each of these three factors-links, fit, and sacrifice-- Mitchell et al. (2001) developed a community variant as well. These factors, hence, represented the extent to which individuals feel embedded in their community. Links to the community reflect whether individuals are married, whether they own their home, and whether their family lives in the community. Fit to the community corresponds to whether individuals like and connect with the community in which they live. Finally, sacrifice if individuals left the community related to whether individual felt they were respected as well as safe and, therefore, leaving the community would be difficult.

Evolution

Job embeddedness evolved from the unfolding model of turnover, promulgated by Lee and Mitchell (1994), which characterizes the reasons that individuals leave organizations. In particular, according to Lee and Mitchell (1994), several alternative pathways, each corresponding to a separate trajectory, characterize the decision to leave. For example, leaving can follow a precipitous event, called a shock, such as a pregnancy, unpleasant boss, or unexpected job offer. Alternatively, leaving can follow a gradual accumulation of dissatisfaction. In addition, sometimes leaving can follow a rational analysis of costs and benefits or could represent an immediate emotional response or script. This unfolding model of turnover highlighted how factors outside the job context can affect retention.

Consequences

Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez (2001) showed that job embeddedness was negatively related to intention to leave and subsequent turnover. More importantly, these relationships remained significant, but small in effect, after other factors such as commitment and job satisfaction were controlled.

Lee, Mitchell, Sablynski, Burton, and Holtom (2004) examined the role of job embeddedness on other workplace outcomes. They supported the hypothesis that embeddedness to the community should reduce turnover and absenteeism, after controlling job attitudes. That is, if individuals feel embedded to the community, they might feel that changing jobs could be costly: they would might to relinquish their role in this community, especially if future relocation is necessary. In contrast, embeddedness to the job was related to discretionary behaviors outside the role and job performance, even after controlling job attitudes.

Responses to negative events

Job embeddedness might also increase the likelihood that individuals will respond adaptively to adverse events at work. Indeed, as Burton, Holtom, Sablynski, Mitchell, and Lee (2010) showed, in response to negative events at work, many employees withdraw effort and support. However, when job embeddedness is elevated, employees do not withdraw effort and support in the aftermath of these events, but instead engage in more organizational citizenship behavior and perform more productively.

Specifically, in a study conducted by Burton, Holtom, Sablynski, Mitchell, and Lee (2010), participants completed a questionnaire that first assessed their level of job embeddedness. Next, the questionnaire assessed whether or not participants had experienced various negative events, such as unexpected criticisms of their performance, unsuccessful application to be promoted, or a disappointing bonus. Furthermore, participants specified whether they contemplated leaving after these events unfolded. Finally, supervisors rated the job performance of these individuals as well as the extent to which they engage in organizational citizenship behavior, such as the degree to which they assist colleagues.

In general, if job embeddedness was limited, musings about leaving after adverse events were inversely related to job performance and organizational citizenship behavior. In contrast, if job embeddedness was elevated, musings about leaving after adverse events were positively related to job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (Burton, Holtom, Sablynski, Mitchell, & Lee, 2010).

To explain this finding, Burton, Holtom, Sablynski, Mitchell, and Lee (2010) argued that individuals who feel embedded in the job might initially question whether they should remain loyal. Because they feel embedded, they usually decide to stay, and thus feel the need to justify their choice, as implied by the forced compliance model (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959), a variant of cognitive dissonance. As a consequence, they will attempt to avoid any negative events--such adversities would merely underscore the drawbacks of their decision and aggravate a sense of dissonance. To avoid these negative events, they might attempt to enhance their performance. They might also escalate their commitment to the organization, as a means to show to themselves their decision was rational (see escalation of commitment), which can in turn increase the salience of positive features of this organization (see spreading of alternatives).

Causes

Allen (2006) discovered that socialization tactics can affect embeddedness to the organization. In particular, affect embeddedness to the organization was enhanced when newcomers received some form of collective learning experience, such as training in groups, which facilitates social interactions and associations.

Furthermore, if individuals are informed of the sequence of phases that newcomers as they become increasingly accepted into the organization, embeddedness to the organization also rises. They become more aware of which phases they have to complete, amplifying the sacrifice they would experience if they left. Finally, positive social support also promotes embeddedness to the organization.

Measures

To assess job embeddedness, Mitchell et al. (2001) developed a scale that comprises 40 items. The scale comprises six subscales: organization links (e.g., "How many coworkers are highly dependent on you");; organization fit (e.g., "My coworkers are similar to me");; organization sacrifice (e.g., "I would sacrifice a lot if I left this job");; community links (e.g., "How many family members live nearby");; community fit (e.g., "The area where I live offers the leisure activities that I like");; community sacrifice (e.g., "People respect me a lot in my community"). Cronbach's values are .68, .87, .86, .58, .86, and .70 respectively. Response options differ across items. Hence, responses are standardized and then aggregated.

Subsequently, Crossley, Bennett, Jex, and Burnfield (2007) have developed a measure of global job connectedness, in which Cronbach's is .80. Items were derived from the definitions of job embeddedness and clear examples that has been presented in the literature, using the deductive item-generation strategy (Hinkin, 1995).

Suggestions for future research

Laio, Chuang, and Joshi (2008) recommended that future research should examine whether deep-level similarity is a predictor of job embeddedness. Deep-level similarity refers to the extent to which individuals feel they share similar personality traits, qualities, attitudes, values, knowledge, skills, and interests with other members of their workgroup, organization, or collective. This form of similarity might manifest a strong sense of job connectedness. Indeed, both deep-level similarity and job connectedness reduce turnover.

Overlapping but distinct concepts

As Yao, Lee, Mitchell, Burton, and Sablynski (2004) highlight, job embeddedness clearly overlaps with a diversity of factors, such as social networks embeddedness, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, person-job fit, and so forth. As Crossley, Bennett, Jex, and Burnfield (2007) highlight, few of these other constructs underscore the role of connections to the community as well.

References

Allen, D. G. (2006). Do organizational socialization tactics influence newcomer embeddedness and turnover? Journal of Management, 32, 237-256.

Burton, J. O., Holtom, B. C., Sablynski, C. J., Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. (2010). The buffering effects of job embeddedness on negative shocks. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76, 42-51.

Crossley, C. D., Bennett, R., J., Jex, S. M., & Burnfield, J. L. (2007). Development of a global measure of job embeddedness and integration into a traditional model of voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1031-1042.

Felps, W., Hekman, D. R., Mitchell, T. R., Lee, T. W., Harman, W. S., & Holtom, B. C. (2009). Turnover contagion: How coworkers' job embeddedness and coworkers' job search behaviors influence quitting. Academy of Management Journal, 52, 545-561.

Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58, 203-210.

Hinkin, T. R. (1995). A review of scale development practices in the study of organizations. Journal of Management, 21, 967-988.

Holtom, B. C., & Inderrieden, E. J. (2006). Integrating the unfolding model and job embeddedness model to better understand voluntary turnover. Journal of Managerial Issues, 18, 435-452.

Holtom, B. C., Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. Increasing human and social capital by applying job embeddedness theory. Organizational Dynamics, 35, 316-331.

Holtom, B. C., Mitchell, T. R., Lee, T. W., & Interrieden, E. J. (2005). Shocks as causes of turnover: What they are and how organizations can manage them. Human Resource Management, 44, 337-352.

Laio, H., Chuang, A., & Joshi, A. (2008). Perceived deep-level dissimilarity: Personality antecedents and impact on overall job attitudes, helping, work withdrawal, and turnover. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 106, 106-124.

Lee, T. W., & Mitchell, T. R. (1994). An alternative approach: The unfolding model of voluntary employee turnover. Academy of Management Review, 19, 51-89.

Lee, T. W., Mitchell, T. R., Sablynski, C. J., Burton, J. P., & Holtom, B. C. (2004). The effects of job embeddedness on organizational citizenship, job performance, volitional absences, and voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 711-722.

Mitchell, T. R., Holtom, B. C., Lee, T. W., Sablynski, C. J., & Erez, M. (2001). Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 1102-1121.

Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. (2001). The unfolding model of voluntary turnover and job embeddedness: Foundations for a comprehensive theory of attachment. Research in Organizational Behavior, 23, 189-246.

Sekiguchi, T., Burton, J. P., & Sablynski, C. J. (2008). The role of job embeddedness on employee performance: The interactive effects with Leader-Member Exchange and Organization-Based Self-Esteem. Personnel Psychology, 61, 761-792.

Trevor, C. O., & Nyberg, A. J. (2008). Keeping headcount when all about you are losing theirs: Downsizing, voluntary turnover rates, and the moderating role of HR practices. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 259-276.

Yao, X., Lee, T. W., Mitchell, T. R., Burton, J. P., & Sablynski, C. S. (2004). Job embeddedness: Current research and future directions. In R. Griffeth & P. Hom (Eds.), Understanding employee retention and turnover (pp. 153-187). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

Created by Dr Simon Moss on 18/10/2008

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