The employee turnover has been a focus of investigation in several disciplines (e.g., psychology, economics, sociology) for a number of years. Employee turnover means the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal of employees from the organization. A high employee turnover rate results in increased recruiting, selecting and training costs. Moreover, it disrupts the efficient functioning of the organization. This article discusses the major causes of employee turnover in the organizations. It also examines the possible consequences of employee turnover.

In recent times, employee withdrawal in the form of turnover has received increased attention of industrial and organizational researchers. Employee turnover is a measure of the extent to which old employees leave and new employees enter the service of the organization. It has been viewed as a conscious process where one evaluates the present and future alternatives in deciding to stay or leave the organization. Turnover has usually been considered a negative outcome variable or cost to be minimized by organizations (Gustafson, 1982). It involves costs not only in human values but also in monetary terms. Thus, research on turnover has largely been stimulated by the desire to reduce the cost associated with personnel leaving industrial and government organizations. The costs of turnover such as recruitment, training and possible disruption of operations are all very real. It depends on many factors, including the relative supply and cost of replacement in either the internal or external labor market, the amount of training invested in employees and the performance level of employees (Cascio, 1994).

Considering the importance of employee turnover for the smooth working of any organization, this article attempts to examine the following two aspects, the main causes and consequences of the employee turnover.

Global CEO Magazine, The Causes and Consequences of Employee Turnover, Organizational Researchers, Employee Turnover, Government Organizations, Labor Markets, Demographic Factors, Job Satisfaction, Organizational commitment, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Organizational Consequences, Industrial Organizations.