Keywords
labor turnover
Voluntary turnover
turnover intention
How to Cite
Abstract
Voluntary employee turnover presents a dichotomous nature. While it can foster innovation and structural renewal, it also leads to dysfunctions such as the loss of social capital and elevated recruitment costs. Through a qualitative literature review, presented as a theoretical essay, this study explores this phenomenon. The primary reflections encourage managers to consider turnover as a strategic indicator with multiple dimensions and dual impacts. The study proposes future research to simultaneously examine the positive and negative effects of this phenomenon and, subsequently, to investigate the moderating role of turnover rates and variations in the hierarchical level of employees who have resigned.
Aguiar, S., de Oliveira, F., Hryniewicz, L., & Sant'Anna, A. (2023). O teletrabalho e as mulheres: percepções da conciliação da vida profissional e familiar. Cadernos EBAPE. BR, 20, 836-850. https://doi.org/10.1590/1679-395120210244
Allen, D., & Vardaman, J. (2021). Global talent retention: Understanding employee turnover around the world. In D. Allen & J. Vardaman (Eds.), Global Talent Retention: Understanding Employee Turnover Around the World (pp. 1-15). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-293-020211001
Amorim, W., Cruz, M., Sarsur, A., Fischer, A., Lima, A., & Bafti, A. (2023). As intrincadas relações sistêmicas entre mercado de trabalho, relações de trabalho e gestão de recursos humanos em contexto pandêmico. Revista de Administração de Empresas - RAE, 63, e2021-0669. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020230103
Amorim, W. A. C., da Cruz, M. V. G., Sarsur, A. M., & Fischer, A. L. (2021). HRM in Brazil: an institutional approach. REGE - Revista de Gestão, 28(1), 84-99. https://doi.org/10.1108/REGE-08-2020-0074
Bajaba, S., Azim, M., & Uddin, A. (2022). O apoio social e a intenção de rotatividade de pessoal: o papel mediador do conflito trabalho-família. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios - RBGN, 24(1), 48-65. https://rbgn.fecap.br/RBGN/article/view/4153
Barbosa, E. C., Maia, M. P. L., de Carvalho, R. A. S., Roberto, J. C. A., & Junior, J. R. L. P. (2025). Construindo um ambiente produtivo: políticas motivacionais para combater o absenteísmo e a rotatividade. Caderno Pedagógico, 22(6), e15748-e15748. https://doi.org/10.54033/cadpedv22n6-223
Beccaria, L., & Maurizio, R. (2020). Rotación laboral en América Latina: Intensidad y diferencias entre países. Revista internacional del trabajo, 139(2), 171-204. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilrs.12160
Becker, L., Ertz, E., & Büttgen, M. (2023). A relational perspective on supervisor‐initiated turnover: Implications for human resource management based on a multi‐method investigation of leader–member exchange relationships. Human Resource Management, 62, 547-564. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.22152
Beria, F., Ligorío, I., Pinhatti, M., Boucinha, D., & de Oliveira, M. (2017). Revisão bibliométrica da produção brasileira sobre turnover no período de 1980 a 2015. Estudos e Pesquisas em Psicologia, 17(1), 118-140. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=451855912008
Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley.
Bolt, E., Winterton, J., & Cafferkey, K. (2022). A century of labour turnover research: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 24(4), 555-576. http://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12294
Calvosa, M. (2022). Relevância do Trabalho e da Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho para a Sociedade. Revista de Administração de Empresas – RAE, 62(2), e2021-0456. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-759020220209
Calvosa, M. (2023). O planejamento estratégico ainda é válido e eficaz para as organizações contemporâneas? Cadernos EBAPE.BR, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.1590/1679-395120220016
Carvalho Neto, A. (2020). Flexible working hour arrangements in Brazil. Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo em Administração, 14(2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v14i2.40811
Costa, G., Carvalho Neto, A., & Diniz, D. (2023). Revolução 4.0 e o trabalho de motoboys e bikeboys de aplicativo. Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo em Administração, 17(4), 176-190. https://doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v17i4.57526
De Muelenaere, K., De Winne, S., Marescaux, E., & Vanormelingen, S. (2021). The role of firm size and knowledge intensity in the performance effects of collective turnover. Journal of Management, 47(4), 993-1023. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206319880957
De Winne, S., Marescaux, E., Sels, L., Van Beveren, I., & Vanormelingen, S. (2019). The impact of employee turnover and turnover volatility on labor productivity: a flexible non-linear approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(21), 3049-3079. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2018.1449129
Feng, J., Allen, D., & Seibert, S. (2022). Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurial identity, job characteristics, and voluntary turnover of former entrepreneurs in paid employment. Personnel Psychology, 75(1), 179-213. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12455
Fortunato, W., & Calvosa, M. (2024). Perspectives Historical and Contemporary on Employee Turnover: A Literature Review. Cuadernos de Administración, 40(80), e4113757-e4113757. https://doi.org/10.25100/cdea.v40i80.13757
Gil, A. (2021). Métodos e Técnicas de Pesquisa Social. 7. Ed., São Paulo, Atlas.
Hekman, D., VanWagoner, H., Owens, B., Mitchell, T., Holtom, B., Lee, T., & Dinger, J. (2022). An Examination of Whether and How Prevention Climate Alters the Influence of Turnover on Performance. Journal of Management, 48(3), 542-570. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206320978451
Heleno, C., Borges, L., & Agullo-Tomas, E. (2018). The meaning of work as a predictor of the intention to remain/leave among teachers. Revista de Administração Mackenzie - RAM, 19. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eRAMD180017
Hobfoll, S. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
Hom, P., Lee, T., Shaw, J., & Hausknech, J. (2017). One hundred years of employee turnover theory and research. Journal of applied psychology, 102(3), 530. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000103
Hom, P., Tsui, A., Wu, J. B., Lee, T., Zhang, A., Fu, P., & Li, L. (2009). Explaining employment relationships with social exchange and job embeddedness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 277. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013453
Iwai, T., Bortoluzzo, A., & Story, J. (2023). Consistency matters: Exploring the different roles of climate variability on collective turnover. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 96(4), 786-806. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12443
Kristof-Brown, A. (1996). Person‐organization fit: An integrative review of its conceptualizations, measurement, and implications. Personnel psychology, 49(1), 1-49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1996.tb01790.x
Kristof‐Brown, A., Schneider, B., & Su, R. (2023). Person‐organization fit theory and research: Conundrums, conclusions, and calls to action. Personnel psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12581
Lara IA (2025). 5 causas de rotación de personal en Colombia. https://www.meetlara.ai/blog/5-causas-rotacion-personal?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Lee, T. W., Hom, P., Eberly, M., & Li, J. J. (2018). Managing employee retention and turnover with 21st century ideas. Organizational dynamics, 47(2), 88-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.08.004
Lee, T., Hom, P., Eberly, M., Li, J., & Mitchell, T. (2017). On the next decade of research in voluntary employee turnover. Academy of management perspectives, 31(3), 201-221. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2016.0123
Li, Q., Lourie, B., Nekrasov, A., & Shevlin, T. (2022). Employee turnover and firm performance: Large-sample archival evidence. Management Science, 68(8), 5667-5683. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4199
Li, Y., Huang, Z., Dineen, B., Wang, M., & van Jaarsveld, D. (2025). Voluntary Turnover Rate Fluctuations, Human Resource Practices, and Innovation: A Within‐Organization Investigation. Personnel Psychology, 78(1), 103-122. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12661
Maertz, C., Keith, M., Raghuram, S., Porter, C., & Dalton, G. (2023). Advancing Theory and Practice on Managing Dysfunctional Turnover: Developing an Improved Measure of Turnover Reasons. Group & Organization Management, 48(5), 1387-1429. https://doi.org/10.1177/10596011211065880
Malik, A., Budhwarb, P., Patelc, C., & Srikanth, N. (2022). May the bots be with you! Delivering HR cost-effectiveness and individualized employee experiences in an MNE. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(6), 1148-1178. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1859582
Meneghetti, F. K. (2011). O que é um ensaio-teórico? Revista de administração contemporânea, 15, 320-332. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-65552011000200010
Menezes-Filho, N., & Narita, R. (2025). Labor market turnover and inequality in Latin America, Oxford Open Economics, Vol. 4, Suppl. 1, 2025, pp. i349–i375. https://doi.org/10.1093/ooec/odae027
Pages Group (2025). Overview - Talent Trends 2025. https://www.michaelpage.nl/en/talenttrends/overview?location=United_States_of_America&industry=_none&job_function=_none
Mitchell, T., Holtom, B., Lee, T., Sablynski, C., & Erez, M. (2001). Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1102-1121. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069391
Moon, K., Bergemann, P., Brown, D., Chen, A., Chu, J., Eisen, E., Fischer, G., Loyalka, P., Rho, S., & Cohen, J. (2023). Manufacturing productivity with worker turnover. Management Science, 69(4), 1995-2015. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4476
Moon, Y-K., O'Brien, K., & Mann, K. (2023). The role of extraversion in the Great Resignation: A burnout-quitting process during the pandemic. Personality and Individual Differences, 205, 112074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.112074
Nyberg, A., & Ployhart, R. (2013). Context-emergent turnover (CET) theory: A theory of collective turnover. Academy of Management Review, 38(1), 109-131. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2011.0201
Oliva, F., Paza, A., Bution, J., Kotabe, M., Kelle, P., Vasconcellos, E., Grisi, C., De Almeida, M., & Fischmann, A. (2022). A model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation: proposition and application with the case of GOL Airlines. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(3), 681-721. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-11-2020-0809
Oliveira, L., Cavazotte, F., & Dunzer, R. A. (2019). The interactive effects of organizational and leadership career management support on job satisfaction and turnover intention. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(10), 1583-1603. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1298650
Oliveira, L. & Najnudel, P. (2023). The influence of abusive supervision on employee engagement, stress and turnover intention. Revista de Gestão - REGE, 30(1), 78-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/REGE-02-2021-0025
Peltokorpi, V., Allen, D. (2023). Job embeddedness and voluntary turnover in the face of job insecurity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2728
Peltokorpi, V., Allen, D., & Shipp, A. (2023). Time to leave? The interaction of temporal focus and turnover intentions in explaining voluntary turnover behavior. Applied Psychology, 72(1), 297-316. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12378
Plataforma Sucupira. (2024). Qualis Periódico. Governo Federal do Brasil. https://sucupira.capes.gov.br/sucupira/public/consultas/coleta/veiculoPublicacaoQualis/listaConsultaGeralPeriodicos.jsf
Porter, C. & Rigby, J. (2021). The turnover contagion process: An integrative review of theoretical and empirical research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(2), 212-228. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2483
Porter, C., Woo, S., Allen, D., & Keith, M. (2019). How do instrumental and expressive network positions relate to turnover? A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 104(4), 511. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000351
Robert Half Talent Solutions. (2024). Metade dos profissionais busca novo emprego em 2024. https://www.roberthalf.com/br/pt/sobre-robert-half/imprensa/metade-dos profissionais-busca-novo-emprego-em-2024.
Rubenstein, A., Eberly, M., Lee, T., & Mitchell, T. (2018). Surveying the forest: A meta‐analysis, moderator investigation, and future‐oriented discussion of the antecedents of voluntary employee turnover. Personnel Psychology, 71(1), 23-65. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12226
Rubenstein, A., Peltokorpi, V., & Allen, D. (2020). Work-home and home-work conflict and voluntary turnover: A conservation of resources explanation for contrasting moderation effects of on-and off-the-job embeddedness. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119, 103413. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103413
Ruiz, P., Perroca, M., & Jericó, M. (2016). Custo da rotatividade da equipe de enfermagem em hospital de ensino. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 50, 101-108. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0080-623420160000100014
Santos, M. & Santos, R. (2022). Análise da rotatividade de pessoal como um tipo de custo oculto em uma empresa do setor de vidros. Revista Ambiente Contábil, 14(2), 338-356. https://doi.org/10.21680/2176-9036.2022v14n2ID24088
Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR). (2024). Retrieved from https://www.scimagojr.com/
Seidl, J., Borges-Andrade, J., & Neiva, E. (2019). Rotatividade: análise de vinte anos da produção científica brasileira. Revista de Administração FACES Journal, 18(2), 44-64. https://doi.org/10.21714/1984-6975FACES2019V18N2ART6090
Serenko, A. (2023). The Great Resignation: the great knowledge exodus or the onset of the Great Knowledge Revolution? Journal of Knowledge Management, 27(4), 1042-1055. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-12-2021-0920
Serenko, A. (2024). The human capital management perspective on quiet quitting: recommendations for employees, managers, and national policymakers. Journal of Knowledge Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-10-2022-0792
Shin, D., & Alam, M. (2022). Lean management strategy and innovation: moderation effects of collective voluntary turnover and layoffs. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 33(1), 202-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2020.1826923
Simón, C., Avgerinos, E., & Revilla, E. (2023). Quits Versus Discharges Across Job Levels: Revisiting the Positive Side of Turnover. Journal of Management, 49(8), 2667-2694. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221108921
Soares, M., Felix, B., & Laurett, R. (2022). Perception of calling and turnover intention: the moderating role of perceived mobility. Cadernos EBAPE. BR, 20(6), 882-897. https://doi.org/10.1590/1679-395120220002x
Soares, V., Álcazar, J., & Ludena, M. (2023). Analytical Approaches in Human Resources – A Systematic Review. JISTEM - Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 19, e202219014. https://doi.org/10.4301/S1807-1775202219014
Souza, P., Ayarza, J., & Spilleir, D. (2022). Retenção de Talentos e Turnover: Diagnóstico e Discussão de Fatores a Partir de um Estudo de Caso. Revista de Administração IMED, 12(1), 128-150. https://doi.org/10.18256/2237-7956.2022.v12i1.4448
Steil, A., Foriani, E., Zilli, M., & Rubio, M. (2019). Intenção de sair da organização: definições, métodos e citações em publicações nacionais. Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho - RPOT, 19(2), 515-522. http://dx.doi.org/10.17652/rpot/2019.2.14080
Stern, I., Deng, X., Chen, G., & Gao, H. (2021). The “butterfly effect” in strategic human capital: Mitigating the endogeneity concern about the relationship between turnover and performance. Strategic Management Journal, 42(13), 2493-2510. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3324
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (2004). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In: Political psychology. Psychology Press, 276-293.
Trevor, C. O., & Piyanontalee, R. (2020). Discharges, poor-performer quits, and layoffs as valued exits: Is it really addition by subtraction? Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 7(1), 181-211. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-045343
Walumbwa, F. O., Hsu, I-C, Wu, C., Misati, E., & Christensen-Salem, A. (2019). Employee service performance and collective turnover: Examining the influence of initiating structure leadership, service climate and meaningfulness. Human Relations, 72(7), 1131-1153. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718790649
Wikhamn, W., Asplund, K., & Dries, N. (2021). Identification with management and the organization as key mechanisms in explaining employee reactions to talent status. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(4), 956-976. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12335
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Wellington dos Santos Fortunato, Dr. Marcello Calvosa