Prediction of Turnover Intentions among Employed Adults with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

The intentions of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) to voluntarily leave positions of employment (i.e., intentions) are of interest in vocational rehabilitation because they are often the end result of deficiencies in on-the-job interventions by rehabilitation professionals and employers (Gilbride & Hagner, 2005). Calling for a career perspective in rehabilitation, Rumrill and Roessler (1998) described the need for on-going follow-up services to help employed individuals with chronic illnesses identify and reduce or remove barriers to productivity. Allaire, Li, and LaValley (2003) demonstrated that such interventions enabled individuals with rheumatic diseases to maintain their employment, thereby avoiding both an interruption in their work lives and a sick role self-definition. Consequently, planning to leave one's job is an early warning sign that immediate rehabilitation interventions are in order if employees with chronic illnesses are to solve job-related problems and maintain their employment (D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1999). Employed adults with MS are particularly appropriate candidates for workplace interventions targeted at job retention. The rationale for this statement is very simple. Most adults with MS have an employment history (over 90%, LaRocca, Kalb, Schienberg, & Kendall, 1985; LaRocca, 1995; Rumrill, Roessler, & Koch, 1999), and most (approximately 60%, LaRocca, 1995; Rumrill, 1996) were working at the time of their diagnosis. However, retention of their jobs is another matter, given the fact that only 20 to 40 percent continue to work following diagnosis of their MS (Beatty, Blanco, Wilbanks, Paul, & Hames, 1995; LaRocca, 1995; Rumrill et al., 1999). Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify factors predicting turnover in light of the need to improve job retention success through on-the-job follow-up services that rehabilitation professionals could provide adults with MS. Research indicates that intention, i.e., thinking about leaving one's job, is the best and most immediate predictor of (Dougherty, Bludorn, & Keon, 1985; Hui, 1988; Martin, 1979; Mobley, Homer, & Hollingsworth, 1978; Steers & Mowday, 1981). Although it is true that some jobs are not worth keeping, it is also accurate to say that much time, effort, and money is invested in ensuring that vocational placements through rehabilitation services are in the best interests of the person. Losing such a position, when it might have been avoided through timely and appropriate interventions, is therefore, a tragedy of no small proportions. Hence, empirical findings regarding factors affecting intention among individuals with disabilities have considerable pertinence for the development and implementation of job retention interventions in rehabilitation. Since the turn of the century, researchers in the fields of management, human resources, and industrial/organizational psychology have invested considerable effort in developing a model to predict voluntary (Moore, 1998). Models resulting from their work have ranged from simple linear ones generated through regression analyses to more complex, dynamic ones resulting from structural equation modeling (e.g., Feeley, & Barnett, 1997; Flaherty & Pappas, 2002; Mitchell, Wise, & Fireman, 1996; Quinn, Rycraft, & Schoech, 2002). The amount of variance in accounted for in these studies typically ranges from 17% to 30%, with one particular model explaining 63% of the variance in intentions. Predictors of in the research literature include job satisfaction, organizational commitment, supervisor relations, coworker relations, compensation and benefits, internal job mobility, organizational communication, organizational support, job match, and, finally, intention. Turnover intention is central to this investigation because, as previously noted, it is the best and most immediate predictor of voluntary turnover. …

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