While an abundance of research has addressed the issue of employee turnover, this work has been largely conducted in the full-time employment context. There is a great need to increase research attention toward the study of part-time workers, given that entire industries rely on part-time labor as a major source of employment, as well as the continuing increase in employment opportunities in the part-time labor sector (see Feldman, 1990; Nardone, 1993). Consistent with Tansky et al.'s (1997) observation, little research has focused on differences among part-time workers, and this research has been largely inconsistent and non-theoretical (e.g. Lee and Johnson, 1991; McGinnis and Morrow, 1990). Specifically, there is a need to develop a fuller understanding of the nature of the part-time workforce itself and those factors that influence behavior among this portion of the workforce. One such area is that of turnover behavior.
Regardless of the model employed, much of the research has drawn attention to the following categories of influence on turnover:
Push or work-related factors
The aspects which may "push" an individual into voluntarily leaving his/her organization are associated with the nature of organizational life itself and include such important factors as job satisfaction. The negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover has been empirically validated by many studies of turnover (e.g. Arnold and Feldman, 1982). The rationale for this view is that a dissatisfied worker will escape from an unfavorable work situation. The higher the satisfaction with pay/financial rewards received the lower the expected level of turnover behavior (Dalton and Todor, 1979, 1982; Porter and Steers, 1973). However, these findings need to be assessed in the part-time work context. In addition, performance-reward contingencies have a significant and negative association with turnover, according to the research conducted among full-time employees.
External or pull factors
Influences which could "pull" an individual out of his/her present employment (i.e. cause turnover) are: personal and household income levels, wage earner status in the household, family commitments, as well as acceptable job alternatives (Mobley et al., 1979a).
With regard to income levels, the research in the full-time employment context has suggested that main household wage earners will be less likely to exhibit turnover behavior than those individuals who are not the main wage earners for their households. The rationale for this view is that main household wage earners possess relatively greater responsibility for the financial viability of their households than do secondary wage earners. For this reason, it is expected that main wage earners will have less freedom and flexibility to explore job alternatives (i.e. lower turnover), without incurring substantial penalties (loss of primary income) for their household units. It is of interest to consider whether this relationship holds in the part-time employment context.
Individual characteristics.
A large number of research studies have identified the importance of individual or demographic factors as predictors of job turnover (e.g. Arnold and Feldman, 1982; Cotton and Tuttle, 1986; Lee and Mowday, 1987). First, the research has largely supported the argument that education is positively related to employee turnover (e.g. Arnold and Feldman, 1982; Brief and Aldag, 1980). Tansky et al. (1997) suggested that while this might also hold true for part-time workers, the reverse relationship might also apply. Second, the research evidence that has been generated suggests that older workers are typically more satisfied than younger workers, in the part-time context (e.g. Greenberger and Steinberg, 1996). The research has also suggested that younger part-timers are more likely to have higher rates of absenteeism and turnover (e.g. Kahne, 1985). Third, there are numerous research studies which suggest that a negative relationship exists between tenure and turnover (e.g. Steers, 1977). The research has indicated that relatively high turnover occurs among new employees (e.g. Mobley, 1982a, 1982b). Finally, a number of research studies have suggested that married employees are less likely to quit an organization than are unmarried employees (e.g. Cotton and Tuttle, 1986; Youngblood et al., 1983). Again, this relationship needs to be more fully assessed in the part-time employment context.