Recent advances in the personality and turnover literatures suggest the importance of expanding current turnover criteria, incorporating dark personality traits, and examining the role of time in these relationships. The present study investigates these issues by considering both the speed and the reasons for leaving, examining a wider range of personality variables as predictors by including both “bright” and “dark” traits, and exploring the potential moderating effect of time in such predictions. Data were collected from a sample of 617 employees working in an electronics manufacturing firm in the United States. Using a Bayesian survival analysis framework, we found that dark traits were just as useful in predicting turnover outcomes as traditional personality traits and best predicted the specific turnover reasons, “deviant behavior” and “no call no show.” Investigating the role of time showed that job satisfaction and intellectual curiosity (i.e., Openness) grew in predictive strength over the course of organizational tenure but that the time-dependent effects of other predictors were negligible.
AllenD. G.BryantP. C.VardamanJ. M.2010. Retaining talent: Replacing misconceptions with evidence-based strategies. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(2): 48-64. doi:10.5465/AMP.2010.51827775
2.
AllenN. J.MeyerJ. P.1990. The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63: 1-18.
3.
AliA. M. G.DawsonS.BlowsF. M.ProvenzanoE.EllisI. O.BagliettoL.HuntsmanD.CaldasC.PharaohP. D.2011. Comparison of methods for handling missing data on immunohistochemical markers in survival analysis of breast cancer. British Journal of Cancer, 104: 693-699. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6606078
American Psychiatric Association. 1994. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
6.
American Psychiatric Association. 2013. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
7.
AndraszewiczS.ScheibehenneJ. R.RieskampR.GrasmanR.VerhagenJ.WagenmakersE.-J.2015. An introduction to Bayesian hypothesis testing for management research. Journal of Management, 42: 521-534.
8.
BakerH. S.1979. The conquering hero quits: Narcissistic factors in underachievement and failure. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 33: 418-427.
9.
BaraldiA. N.EndersC. K.2010. An introduction to modern missing data analyses. Journal of School Psychology, 48: 5-37.
10.
BarrickM. R.MountM. K.1991. The Big Five personality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 44: 1-26.
11.
BarrickM. R.ZimmermanR. D.2005. Reducing voluntary, avoidable turnover through selection. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 159-166.
12.
BayarriM. J.BergerJ. O.2004. The interplay of Bayesian and frequentist analysis. Statistical Science, 19: 58-80.
13.
BenteinK.VandenbergR.VandenbergheC.StinglhamberF.2005. The role of change in the relationship between commitment and turnover: A latent growth modeling approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 468-482.
14.
BoswellW. R.ShippA. J.PayneS. C.CulbertsonS. S.2009. Changes in job satisfaction over time: The surprising role of honeymoons and hangovers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94: 844-858.
15.
BrooksS. P.GelmanA.1998. General methods for monitoring convergence of iterative simulations. Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics, 7: 434-455.
16.
CarrollK. J.2003. On the use and utility of the Weibull model in the analysis of survival data. Controlled Clinical Trials, 24: 682-701.
17.
CarsonM. A.ShanockL. R.HeggestadE. D.AndrewA. M.PughS. D.WalterM.2012. The relationship between dysfunctional interpersonal tendencies, derailment potential behavior, and turnover. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27: 291-304.
18.
CarstenJ.SpectorP.1987. Unemployment, job satisfaction, and employee turnover: A meta-analytic test of the Muchinsky model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 72: 374-381.
19.
ChenG.PloyhartR. E.ThomasH. C.AndersonN.BlieseP. D.2011. The power of momentum: A new model of dynamic relationships between job satisfaction change and turnover intentions. Academy of Management Journal, 54: 159-181.
20.
ChoS. H.LeeJ. Y.MarkB. A.YunS. C.2012. Turnover of new graduate nurses in their first job using survival analysis. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 44: 63-70.
21.
ChristensenN. D.QuirkS. W.RobieC.OswaldF. L.2014. Light already defines the darkness: Understanding normal and maladaptive personality in the workplace. Industrial Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7: 138-143.
22.
CortinaJ. M.LandisR. S.2009. When small effect sizes tell a big story, and when large effect sizes don’t. In LanceC. E.VandenbergR. J. (Eds.), Statistical and methodological myths and urban legends: Doctrine, verity and fable in the organizational and social sciences: 287-308. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
23.
CoxD. R.OakesD.1984. Analysis of survival data. London: Chapman and Hall.
24.
CullenM. J.SackettP. R.2003. Personality and counterproductive workplace behavior. In BarrickM. R.RyanA. M. (Eds.), Personality and work: 150-182. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
25.
DalalR. S.2005. A meta-analysis of the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 1241-1255. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1241
26.
DaltonD. R.TodorW. D.KrackhardtD. M.1982. Turnover overstated: A functional taxonomy. Academy of Management Review, 7: 117-123.
27.
De FruytF.Van LeeuwenK.BagbyR. M.RollandJ.RouillonF.2006. Assessing and interpreting personality change and continuity in patients treated for major depression. Psychological Assessment, 18: 71-80.
28.
De FruytF.WilleB.FurnhamA.2013. Assessing aberrant personality in managerial coaching: Measurement issues and prevalence rates across employment sectors. European Journal of Personality, 26: 555-564.
29.
DeSimoneJ. A.2014. Will exploring the darkness prove enlightening? Five questions about the “maladaptive Big Five.”Industrial Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7: 126-130.
30.
DickterD.RoznowskiM.HarrisonD.1996. Temporal tempering: An event history analysis of the process of voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81: 705-716.
31.
DondersA. R.van der HeijdenG.StijnenT.MoonsK. G.2006. Review: A gentle introduction to imputation of missing values. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 15: 1087-1091.
32.
EllingsonJ. E.SackettP. R.ConnellyB. S.2007. Personality assessment across selection and development contexts: Insights into response distortion. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 386-395.
33.
EttnerS. L.MacleanJ. C.FrenchM. T.2011. Does having a dysfunctional personality hurt your career? Axis II personality disorders and labor market outcomes. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 50: 149-173.
34.
GaddisB. H.FosterJ. L.2015. Meta-analysis of dark side personality characteristics and critical work behaviors among leaders across the globe: Findings and implications for leadership development and executive coaching. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 64: 25-54.
35.
GelmanA.2015. The connection between varying treatment effects and the crisis of unreplicable research: A Bayesian perspective. Journal of Management, 41: 632-643.
36.
GelmanA.RubinD. B.1992. Inference from iterative simulation using multiple sequences. Statistical Science, 7: 457-472.
37.
GewekeJ.1986. Exact inference in the equality constrained normal linear regression model. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 1: 127-141.
38.
GeyerC. J.1994. On the asymptotics of constrained M-estimation. Annals of Statistics, 22: 1993-2010.
39.
GillJ.2002. Bayesian methods: A social and behavioral sciences approach. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall.
40.
GoreW. L.WidigerT. A.2013. The DSM-5 dimensional trait model and five-factor models of general personality. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122: 816-821.
41.
GriffethR.HomP.GaertnerS.2000. A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26: 463-488.
42.
GuenoleN.2014. Maladaptive personality at work: Exploring the darkness. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 7: 85-97.
43.
HaigB.2005. An abductive theory of scientific method. Psychological Methods, 10: 371-388.
44.
HambrickD. C.2007. The field of management’s devotion to theory: Too much of a good thing?Academy of Management Journal, 50: 1346-1352.
45.
HoganR.2007. Personality and the fate of organizations. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
46.
HoganR.HoganJ.2001. Assessing leadership: A view from the dark side. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9: 40-51.
HoganR.HoganJ.2009. Hogan Development Survey manual. Tulsa: Hogan Assessment Systems.
49.
HoltomB. C.TiddS. T.MitchellT. R.LeeT. W.2013. A demonstration of the importance of temporal considerations in the prediction of newcomer turnover. Human Relations, 66: 1337-1352.
50.
HomP.Caranikas-WalkerF.PrussiaG.GriffethR.1992. A meta-analytical structural equations analysis of a model of employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77: 890-909.
HomP. W.KaterbergR.HulinC. L.1979. Comparative examination of three approaches to the prediction of turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64: 280-290.
53.
HomP. W.KinickiA. J.2001. Toward a greater understanding of how dissatisfaction drives employee turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 975-987.
54.
HomP. W.MitchellT.LeeT. W.GriffethR. W.2012. Reviewing employee turnover: Focusing on proximal withdrawal states and an expanded criterion. Psychological Bulletin, 138: 831-858.
55.
HorneyK.1950. Neurosis and human growth. New York: Norton.
56.
HulinC. L.RoznowskiM.HachiyaD.1985. Alternative opportunities and withdrawal decisions: Empirical and theoretical discrepancies and an integration. Psychological Bulletin, 97: 233-250.
57.
IbrahimJ. G.ChenM. H.SinhaD.2001. Bayesian survival analysis. New York: Springer-Verlag.
58.
IliesR.JudgeT. A.2002. Understanding the dynamic relationships among personality, mood, and job satisfaction: A field experience sampling study. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89: 1119-1139.
59.
JamesL. R.LeBretonJ. M.2012. Assessing the implicit personality through conditional reasoning. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
60.
JebbA. T.WooS. E.2015. A Bayesian primer for the organizational sciences: The “two sources” and introduction to BugsXLA. Organizational Research Methods, 18: 92-132.
61.
JeffreysH.1961. Theory of probability (3rd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
62.
JenkinsJ. M.1993. Self-monitoring and turnover: The impact of personality on intent to leave. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14: 83-91.
63.
JohnO. P.SrivastavaS.1999. The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In PervinL. A.JohnO. P. (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research: 102-138. New York: Guilford Press.
64.
JudgeT. A.HellerD.MountM. K.2002. Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 530-541.
65.
JudgeT. A.RodellJ. B.KlingerR. L.SimonL. S.CrawfordE. R.2013. Hierarchical representations of the five-factor model of personality in predicting job performance: Integrating three organizing frameworks with two theoretical perspectives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98: 875-925.
66.
Kammeyer-MuellerJ. D.WanbergC. R.GlombT. M.AhlburgD. (2005). The role of temporal shifts in turnover processes: It’s about time. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 644-658.
67.
KanferR.WanbergC. R.KantrowitzT. M.2001. Job search and employment: A personality-motivational analysis and meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 837-855.
68.
KassR. E.RafteryA. E.1995. Bayes factors. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 90: 773-795.
69.
KimY.LeeJ.2003. Bayesian bootstrap for proportional hazards models. Annals of Statistics, 31: 1905-1922.
70.
KirkR. E.1996. Practical significance: A concept whose time has come. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 56: 746-759. doi:10.1177/0013164496056005002
71.
KruegerR. F.EatonN. R.ClarkL. A.WatsonD.MarkonK. E.DerringerJ.SkodolA.LivesleyW. J.2011. Deriving an empirical structure of personality pathology forDSM-5. Journal of Personality Disorders, 25: 170-191.
72.
KruschkeJ. K.2011. Doing Bayesian data analysis: A tutorial with R and BUGS. Burlington, MA: Academic Press/Elsevier.
73.
LanceC. E.VandenbergR. J.SelfR. M.2000. Latent growth models of individual change: The case of newcomer adjustment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 83: 107-140.
74.
LeeT. W.MitchellT. R.HoltomB. C.McDaneilL. S.HillJ. W. (1999). The unfolding model of voluntary turnover: A replication and extension. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 450-462.
75.
LockeE. A.2007. The case for inductive theory building. Journal of Management, 33: 867-890.
76.
LynamD. R.WidigerT. A.2007. Using a general model of personality to identify the basic elements of psychopathy. Journal of Personality Disorders, 21: 160-178.
77.
MaertzC. P.CampionM.2004. Profiles in quitting: Integrating process and content turnover theory. Academy of Management Journal, 47: 566-582. doi:10.2307/20159602
78.
MarkonK. E.KruegerR. F.WatsonD.2005. Delineating the structure of normal and abnormal personality: An integrative hierarchical approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88: 139-157.
79.
MeyerG. J.ShackJ. R.1989. Structural convergence of mood and personality: Evidence for old and new directions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57: 691-706.
80.
MeyerJ. P.StanleyD. J.HerscovitchL.TopolnytskyL.2002. Affective, continuance, and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61: 20-52.
81.
MeyerR. D.DalalR. S.HermidaR.2010. A review and synthesis of situational strength in the organizational sciences. Journal of Management, 36: 121-140. doi:10.1177/0149206309349309
82.
MillerJ. D.BagbyR.PilkonisP. A.ReynoldsS. K.LynamD. R.2005. A simplified technique for scoring DSM-IV personality disorders with the five-factor model. Assessment, 12: 404-415.
83.
MischelW.ShodaY.1995. A cognitive-affective system theory of personality: Reconceptualizing situations, dispositions, dynamics, and invariance in personality structure. Psychological Review, 102: 246-268.
84.
MitchellT. R.HoltomB. C.LeeT. W.SablynskiC. J.ErezM.2001. Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 1102-1121.
85.
MoritaJ. G.LeeT. W.MowdayR. T.1989. Introducing survival analysis to organizational researchers: A selected application to turnover research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74: 280-292.
86.
MoritaJ. G.LeeT. W.MowdayR. T.1993. The regression analog to survival analysis: A selected application to turnover research. Academy of Management Journal, 36: 1430-1464.
87.
MossholderK. W.SettoonR. P.HenaganS. C.2005. A relational perspective on turnover: Examining structural, attitudinal, and behavioral predictors. Academy of Management Journal, 48: 607-618.
88.
NewmanD.2014. Missing data: Five practical guidelines. Organizational Research Methods, 17: 372-411. doi:10.1177/1094428114548590
89.
NybergA.2010. Retaining your high performers: Moderators of the performance–job satisfaction–voluntary turnover relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95: 440-453.
90.
O’BoyleE. H.Jr.ForsythD. R.BanksG. C.McDanielM. A.2012. A meta-analysis of the Dark Triad and work behavior: A social exchange perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97: 557-579. doi:10.1037/a0025679
91.
PlummerM.2008. Penalized loss functions for Bayesian model comparison. Biostatistics, 9: 523-539. doi:10.1093/biostatistics/kxm049
92.
PorterL. W.SteersR. M.1973. Organizational, work, and personal factors in employee turnover and absenteeism. Psychological Bulletin, 80: 151-176.
93.
PrenticeR. L.KalbfleischJ. D.PetersonA. V.Jr.FlournoyN.FarewellV. T.BreslowN. E.1978. The analysis of failure times in the presence of competing risks. Biometrics, 34: 541-554.
94.
RobertsB. W.Del VecchioW. F.2000. The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 126: 3-25.
95.
RobinsR. W.FraleyR. C.RobertsB. W.TrzesniewskiK. H.2001. A longitudinal study of personality change in young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 69: 617-640.
96.
SingerJ. D.WillettJ. B.1991. Modeling the days of our lives: Using survival analysis when designing and analyzing longitudinal studies of duration and the timing of events. Psychological Bulletin, 110: 268-290.
97.
SingerJ.WillettJ.2003. Applied longitudinal data analysis. New York: Oxford University Press.
98.
SomersM. J.1996. Modelling employee withdrawal behaviour over time: A study of turnover using survival analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 69: 315-326.
99.
SomersM. J.BirnbaumD.1999. Survival versus traditional methodologies for studying employee turnover: Differences, divergences and directions for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20: 273-284.
100.
SpainS. M.HarmsP. D.LeBretonJ. M.2014. The dark side of personality at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35: 41-60.
101.
SpectorP. E.RogelbergS. G.RyanA. M.SchmittN.ZedeckS.2014. Moving the pendulum back to the middle: Reflections on and introduction to the inductive research special issue of Journal of Business and Psychology. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29: 499-502.
102.
SpiegelhalterD. J.BestN. G.CarlinB. P.Van Der LindeA.2002. Bayesian measures of model complexity and fit. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Statistical Methodology), 64: 583-639.
103.
StantonJ. M.SinarE. F.BalzerW. K.JulianA. L.ThoresenP.AzizS.. . . SmithP. C.2002. Development of a compact measure of job satisfaction: The abridged Job Descriptive Index. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62: 173-191.
104.
SteelR. P.2002. Turnover theory at the empirical interface: Problems of fit and function. Academy of Management Review, 27: 346-360.
105.
SturmanM.TrevorC.2001. Implications of linking the dynamic performance and turnover literatures. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 684-696.
106.
TettR. P.BurnettD. D.2003. A personality trait-based interactionist model of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88: 500-517. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.3.500
107.
TettR. P.JacksonD. N.RothsteinM.1991. Personality measures as predictors of job performance: A meta-analytic review. Personnel Psychology, 44: 703-742.
108.
ThomasK. M.YalchM. M.KruegerR. F.WrightA. C.MarkonK. E.HopwoodC. J.2013. The convergent structure of DSM-5 personality trait facets and five-factor model trait domains. Assessment, 20: 308-311.
109.
ThoresenC. J.KaplanS. A.BarskyA. P.WarrenC. R.de ChermontK.2003. The affective underpinnings from private practitioner to employee. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60: 382-404.
110.
VinsonG. A.ConnellyB. S.OnesD.2007. Relationships between personality and organization switching: Implications for utility estimates. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 15: 118-133.
111.
WellerI.HoltomB. C.MatiaskeW.MellewigtT.2009. Level and time effects of recruitment sources on early voluntary turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94: 1146-1162. doi:10.1037/a0015924
112.
WilleB.De FruytF.De ClercqB.2013. Expanding and reconceptualizing aberrant personality at work: Validity of five-factor model aberrant personality tendencies to predict career outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 66: 173-223.
113.
WooS. E.2011. A study of Ghiselli’s hobo syndrome. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79: 461-469.
114.
WooS. E.AllenD.2014. Toward an inductive theory of stayers and seekers in the organization. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29: 683-703.
115.
WooS. E.MaertzC. P.2012. Assessment of voluntary turnover in organizations: Answering the questions of why, who, and how much. In SchmittN. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection: 570-594. New York: Oxford University Press.
116.
ZimmermanR. D.2008. Understanding the impact of personality traits on individuals’ turnover decisions: A meta-analytic path model. Personnel Psychology, 61: 309-348.
117.
ZyphurM. J.OswaldF. L.2015. Bayesian estimation and inference: A user’s guide. Journal of Management, 41: 390-420.
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
