Abdolmaleki, G; Naismith, N; Ghodrati, N; Poshdar, M and Babaeian Jelodar, M (2024) An analysis of the literature on construction employee turnover: drivers, consequences, and future direction. Construction Management and Economics, 42(9), pp. 822-846. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Employee turnover is a critical factor affecting organizational effectiveness. It is particularly important in the construction sector due to its knowledge and labor-intensive characteristics. Therefore, it is necessary to understand why qualified employees would leave their employers so that effective measures can be taken to retain them. Despite the growing body of knowledge on employee turnover, there is a lack of comprehensive review of this topic in the construction literature. This study adopts a systematic literature review approach to synthesize domain knowledge on employee turnover from two perspectives: its investigated causes, and consequences. In total, 77 relevant papers are extracted. A total of 51 drivers of construction employee turnover are identified and categorized into personal, job-related, organizational, and external influencers. Findings also suggest three major outcomes caused by employee turnover, including individual, project, and organization-related consequences. This review contributes to understanding the turnover phenomenon in construction literature and highlights potential areas for future empirical studies to move forward. By understanding the main factors influencing turnover decisions, construction organizations can develop and implement effective means for managing employee turnover. This study further contributes to construction employee turnover research by emphasizing the importance of studying the consequences of the turnover phenomenon.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; employee turnover; systematic literature review; turnover consequences |
| Index terms: | construction sector, construction organization, construction employee, body of knowledge, employee turnover, empirical study, turnover, critical factor, organizational effectiveness, construction industry, systematic literature review |
| Subjects: | risk assessment, business, practitioner, management, organization, business management, research methods, research evaluation and metrics, industry analysis, knowledge management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Information Management, Risk Management, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Human Resources, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here