Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
Chapter Eleven: Separating and Retaining
Employees
Welcome to your guide to teaching Chapter Eleven, Separating and
Retaining Employees!
This guide will provide you with a chapter summary, learning objectives, lecture
outlines, solutions to in-chapter case questions and end of chapter discussion questions
and possible responses.
Chapter Eleven Roadmap
We hope you find each chapter of your Instructor Manual practical and useful, but also,
exciting! You can adapt the chapter text, the PowerPoints, and the video to work in an online
class environment, a guided independent study environment, or a face to face or on-ground
environment.
When presenting Chapter Eleven, have the students first read the chapter and
encourage them to absorb the “big picture” of “Separating and Retaining Employees.”
Use the PowerPoint for Chapter Eleven frame your lecture.
Have students read and discuss the cases and their respective questions.
Have students validate their knowledge of the chapter by working through the
Discussion Questions at the end of the Chapter.
Lastly, have students review, journal, or discuss the Key Vocabulary Terms at the end of
the chapter.
ROADMAP: THE LECTURE
SEPARATING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES
Chapter Summary
This chapter explores the dual challenge of separating and retaining employees. The chapter
begins by distinguishing involuntary and voluntary turnover, describing how each affects the
organization. Next, it explores the separation process, including ways to manage this process
fairly. Finally, the chapter discusses measures the organization can take to encourage
employees to stay.
Learning Objectives
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Distinguish between involuntary and voluntary turnover and describe their effects on an
organization.
2. Discuss how employees determine whether the organization treats them fairly.
3. Identify legal requirements for employee discipline.
4. Summarize ways in which organizations can fairly discipline employees.
5. Explain how job dissatisfaction affects employee behavior.
6. Describe how organizations contribute to employees’ job satisfaction and retain key
employees.
I. Introduction
The opening vignette starts with the assumption that teachers are unhappy and want job
changes based on lack of funding, failure of students to perform, and low pay. However, several
surveys have found the opposite. In most surveys up to 90% of teachers say they have job
satisfaction because of the amount of control they have over their curriculum and the classroom.
Teachers rank second to doctors in well-being and the ability to use their strengths at work. The
good news is that most teachers love to teach and that is good for communities. Because of
tenure, poor teachers are hard to fire, but administrators are continuing to learn how to keep
teachers accountable for high quality work.
Discussion Question and Suggested Respons
What does the opening vignette tell you about what makes an employee stay in a job, despite
difficulties?
If an employee feels valued for their gifts and abilities, most times they will stay in the job and
rank job satisfaction high too. Pay and benefits are important, but all jobs have some
difficulties. Managers need to learn about intrinsic motivators in order to develop the most
effective extrinsic motivators.
1. Research indicates that retaining employees helps retain customers and investors.
2. Organizations with low turnover and satisfied employees tend to perform better.
II. Managing Voluntary and Involuntary Turnover
1. Employee turnover refers to employees leaving the organization.
2. Involuntary turnover occurs when the organization initiates the turnover.
3. Many organizations use the word terminated to refer only to a discharge related to a
discipline problem, but some organizations call any involuntary turnover a termination.
4. When the employee initiates the turnover, it is voluntary turnover.
5. Typically, the employees who leave voluntarily are either the organization’s worst
performers, who quit before they are fired, or are its best performers, who can most
easily find attractive new opportunities.
6. Table 11.1 explores the costs associated with both kinds of turnover.
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
7. For a number of reasons, discharging employees can be very difficult. These reasons
include:
a. The decision has legal aspects that can affect the organization.
b. There are issues related to personal safety.
8. Retaining top performers is not always easy either and recent trends have made this
more difficult than ever. Factors affecting this include:
a. The rash of layoffs and downsizing of the early and mid 1990s reduced employees’
loyalty to their organizations.
b. The tight labor markets of the 1990s created a workforce that is both willing and able
to leave on a moment’s notice
III. Employee Separation
1. Because of the critical financial and personal risks associated with employee dismissal,
it is easy to see why organizations must develop a standardized, systematic approach to
discipline and discharge.
2. These decisions should be left solely to the discretion of individual managers and
supervisors.
3. Policies that can lead to employee separation should be based on principles of justice
and law and should allow for various ways to intervene
A. Principles of Justice
1. Considering the sensitivity of a system that involves disciplining and possibly
terminating employees, it is critical that the system be seen as fair.
2. Figure 11.1, Principles of Justice, summarizes these principles as outcome
fairness, procedural justice, and interactional justice. Not only is such behavior
ethical, but research has also linked the last two categories of justice with employee
satisfaction and productivity.
3. Outcome fairness refers to judgment that the consequences given to an employee
are just.
4. Procedural justice is a judgment that fair methods were used to determine the
consequences an employee receives.
5. Six principles that determine whether people perceive methods as fair include:
a. The methods should be consistent from one person to another.
b. The person using the methods should suppress any personal biases.
c. The procedure should be based on accurate information.
d. The procedure should be correctable.
e. The procedure should take into account the concerns of all groups affected.
f. The procedure should be consistent with prevailing ethical standards.
6. Interactional justice is a judgment that the organization carried out its actions in a
way that took the employee’s feelings into account.
B. Legal Requirements
1. Wrongful discharge: Discipline practices must avoid wrongful discharge. The
discharge may not violate an implied contract or violate public policy.
2. Discrimination: A benefit of a formal discipline policy is that it helps the
organization comply with equal employment opportunity requirements.
3. Employees’ Privacy: Employers have legitimate reasons for learning about some
personal matters especially when behavior outside the workplace can affect
productivity, workplace safety, and employee safety.
4. Privacy issues surface when employers wish to search or monitor employees on the
job.
5. No matter how the organization gathers information leading to disciplinary actions, it
also should consider privacy issues when deciding who will see the information.
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
6. Table 11.2, Measures for Protecting Employees’ Privacy, summarizes measures
for protecting employees’ privacy.
7. Notification of Layoffs: Sometimes terminations are necessary not because of
individual misdeeds, but because the organization determines it must close a facility.
8. An organization that plans a large-scale layoff may be subject to the Workers’
Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act. This law requires that organizations with
more than 100 employees give 60 days notice before any closings or layoffs that will
affect at least 50 full-time employees.
HRM Social
Employees’ Privacy vs. Employer’s Reputation
With the growing use of social media, employers need to determine how much they should
monitor their employees’ use of social media. An employee may post something that is
confidential to the employer or harm the reputation of the employer. If not monitored, and
stopped, long term damage can be done to the employer. On the other hand, without probable
cause, an employer can be seen as overacting and invading the employee’s personal privacy by
monitoring the social media posts. Social media use by employees can be an asset as the
employee can be an advocate for the employer or it could be a liability if the employee posts
harmful information.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. Under what conditions do you think an employer should monitor employee’s personal use
of social media?
Answers will vary. Students should discuss the balance between personal privacy and
defamation of an employee or the organization.
2. Aside from the legal requirements, how should the principles of justice shape any efforts
by employers to monitor employees’ personal use of social media?
Employers should start by looking at procedural justice and make sure they have a
consistent policy if they decide to monitor social media. They should do research into
the ethical and legal issues and be sure the information they are looking at is accurate.
If a policy is developed the company should use interactional justice to explain the policy
and how it will be implemented in a respectful manner.
C. Progressive Discipline
1. Hot-stove rule – indicates that an organization’s discipline practices should be like
a hot-stove in that it should give warning and have consequences that are
consistent, objective, and immediate.
2. Progressive discipline – a formal discipline process in which the consequences
become more serious if the employee repeats the offense.
3. Figure 11.2, Progressive Discipline Responses, identifies the most common path
for progressive discipline.
4. Creating a formal discipline process is a primary responsibility of the human
resource department. These rules should cover disciplinary problems such as the
following: tardiness, absenteeism, unsafe work practices, poor quantity or quality of
work, sexual harassment of co-workers, coming to work impaired by alcohol or
drugs, theft of company property, and cyberslacking (conducting personal business
online during work hours).
5. Organizations must communicate rules and rule violation consequences in writing to
every employee. To communicate this information to the employees, organizations
can present them in an employee handbook, post them on the company’s bulletin
board, or post them on the company’s intranet.
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
6. When an employee is suspended or terminated, the organization should designate
a person to escort the employee from the building to protect the organization’s
people and property.
HR How To
Announcing a Disciplinary Action
This vignette summarizes a few principles to help make delivering bad news in a fair and
straightforward way: plan what to say and stick with the plan, move quickly to the main
message, stay on the main point, speak firmly – making eye contact with compassion, listen to
the employee with respect, and keep the meeting short – no more than 15 minutes.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. How do these guidelines meet the principles of justice?
These guidelines meet the interactional justice principles by being respectful,
considerate, and showing empathy when delivering the bad news.
2. How can managers respect an employee’s privacy in applying these guidelines?
Answers will var
D. Alternative Dispute Resolution
1. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) refers to a variety of methods that are being
utilized by organizations to resolve disputes in a timely, constructive, cost-efficient
manner.
2. In general, a system for alternative dispute resolution proceeds through four stages:
a. Open-door policy: based on the expectations that two people in conflict should
first try to arrive at a settlement together, the organization has a policy of making
managers available to hear complaints
b. Peer review: if the people in conflict cannot reach an agreement, they take their
conflict to a panel composed of representatives from the organization at the
same levels as the people in the dispute.
c. Mediation: if the peer review does not lead to a settlement, a neutral party from
outside the organization hears the case and tries to help the people in conflict
arrive at a settlement
d. Arbitration: if mediation fails, a professional arbitrator from outside the
organization hears the case and resolves it by making a decision
3. Figure 11.3, Options for Alternative Dispute Resolution, identifies the steps that
can occur in an alternative dispute resolution.
4. Experience shows that ADR can be highly effective in saving time and money.
E. Employee Assistance Programs
1. Employee assistance program (EAP) is a referral service that employees can use
to seek professional treatment for emotional problems or substance abuse.
EAPsbegan in the 1950s and continue to evolve today.
2. EAPs vary widely, but most share some basic elements: the programs are usually
identified in official documents published by the employer, supervisors are trained to
use the referral service, employees are trained to use the system to refer
themselves, and a regular evaluation of the program’s costs and benefits is
performed.
3. With many companies continuing to face pressures associated with the housing crisis
and slow economic recovery, EAPs today are seeing signs of strains on mental and
emotional health.
F. Outplacement Counseling
1. Outplacement counseling – tries to help dismissed employees manage the
transition from one job to another.
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
2. The goals for outplacement counseling programs are to help the former employee
address the psychological issues associated with losing a job—grief, depression,
and fear—while at the same time helping the person find a new job.
G. Employee Engagement
1. Employee engagement is the degree to which employees are fully involved in their work
and the strength of their commitment to their job and company.
2. Although the types of questions asked in employee engagement surveys may vary, some
of the common themes generally measured include pride and satisfaction with
employer; opportunity to perform challenging work; recognition and positive feedback
from contributions; personal support from supervisor; and understanding the link
between one’s job and the company’s overall mission.
Did You Know
Where Profits Are Growing, More Employees Are Engaged
According to research by Quantum Workplace, employees are more likely to be engaged at
companies where profits are rising than at companies with flat or falling profits. In addition,
employees feel less valued, have less trust of senior management, and don’t see either work
aligned with corporate strategy in companies with flat or falling profits.
Discussion Question with Possible Response
1. Based on the information given, how might the companies with falling profits address
employee engagement? What effect would you expect this to have on future profits?
Answers will vary. Employers should demonstrate the value of each employee, be more
transparent from leadership levels, and be sure jobs are aligned with corporate strategy
in order to increase productivity which should then increase profits.
V. Job Withdrawal
1. Job withdrawal – a set of behaviors with which employees try to avoid the work
situation physically, mentally, or emotionally.
2. Job withdrawal results when circumstances such as the nature of the job, supervisors
and coworkers, pay levels, or the employee’s own disposition cause the employee to
become dissatisfied with the job.
3. Figure 11.4, Job Withdrawal Process, identifies the process of job withdrawal.
A. Job Dissatisfaction
1. Many aspects of people and organizations can cause job dissatisfaction. These
factors fall into four categories: personal disposition, tasks and roles, supervisors
and coworkers, and pay and benefits.
2. Personal Disposition: Several personal qualities have been found to be
associated with job dissatisfaction including negative affectivity – describes
pervasive low levels of satisfaction with all aspects of life and negative core self
evaluation – bottom-line opinions individuals have of themselves and may be
negative or positive.
3. Tasks and Roles: As a predictor of job dissatisfaction, nothing surpasses the
nature of the task itself. Many aspects of a task have been linked to dissatisfaction
such as the complexity of the task, the degree of physical strain and exertion
required, and the value the employee places on the task.
4. A person’s role consists of a set of behaviors that people expect of a person in that
job.
5. Several role-related problems contribute to dissatisfaction:
a. Role ambiguity: uncertainty about what the organization expects from the
employee in terms of what to do or how to do it.
b. Role conflict: an employee’s recognition that demands of the job are
incompatible or contradictory.
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
c. Role overload: a state in which too many expectations or demands are placed
on a person.
6.Supervisors and Coworkers: Negative behavior by people in the workplace can
produce tremendous dissatisfaction.
7.Supervisors and Co-Workers: Negative behavior by managers and peers in the
workplace can produce tremendous dissatisfaction.
8.Furthermore, uncivil behavior by co-workers generates unhappiness that manifests in
a variety of ways such as decreased commitment, effort, and performance.
9.Pay and Benefits: With regard to job satisfaction, the pay level is especially
important.
B. Behavior Change
1. A reasonable expectation is that an employee’s first response to dissatisfaction
would be to try to change the conditions that generate the dissatisfaction.
2. As the employee tries to bring about changes in policy or personnel, the efforts may
involve confrontation and conflict with the employee’s supervisor.
3. From the manager’s point of view, the complaints, confrontations, and grievances
may feel threatening. However, this is an opportunity for the manager to learn about
and solve a potentially important problem.
4. Motivational writer and speaker Jon Gordon notes that employees who constantly
complain can drain energy from the workplace, but the behavior can be channeled
for good. Responding to complaints but requesting—and listening to- ideas for what
would make the situation better develops a workforce of problem solvers.
5. Some employees may engage in whistle-blowing, taking their charges to the media
in the hope that if the public learns about the situation, the organization will be
forced to change. From the organization’s point of view, whistle-blowing is harmful
because of the negative publicity.
6. Another way employees may go outside the organization for help is to file a lawsuit.
C. Physical Job Withdrawal
1. If behavior change has failed or seem impossible, a dissatisfied worker may
physically withdraw from the job. Options for physically leaving a job range from:
a. Arriving late
b. Calling in sick
c. Requesting a transfer
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
d. Leaving the organization
2. Finding a new job is rarely easy and can takes months, so employees are often
cautious about quitting. Employees who would like to quit may be late for work.
Tardiness is costly because late employees are not contributing for part of the day.
3. An employee who is dissatisfied because of circumstances related to the specific job
—for example, an unpleasant workplace or an unfair supervisory—may be able to
resolve that problem with a job transfer.
D. Psychological Withdrawal
1. Psychological withdrawal can take several forms.
2. If an employee is primarily dissatisfied with the job itself, the employee may display
a very low level of job involvement. Job involvement is the degree to which
people identify themselves with their jobs. When an employee is dissatisfied with
the organization as a whole, the person’s commitment may be low. Organizational
commitment is the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization
and is willing to put forth effort on its behalf.
V. Job Satisfaction
1. Job satisfaction is a pleasant feeling resulting from the perception that one’s job fulfills
or allows for the fulfillment of one’s important job values. This definition reflects several
important aspects of job satisfaction:
a. Job satisfaction is related to a person’s values.
b. Different employees have different views of which values are important.
c. Job satisfaction is based on perception not an objective and complete measurement
of the situation
2. Figure 11.5, Increasing Job Satisfaction, identifies ways in which organizations can
contribute to job satisfaction.
A. Personal Disposition
1. Some personal qualities of the employee, such as negative affectivity and negative
core self-evaluation, are associated with job dissatisfaction.
B. Tasks and Roles
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
1. Organizations can improve job satisfaction by making jobs more complex and
meaningful. Some of the methods available for this approach to job design are job
enrichment and job rotation.
2. Organizations can increase satisfaction by developing clear and appropriate roles.
3. Job Complexity: Not only can job design add to complexity, but also employees
themselves sometimes take measures to make their work more interesting.
4. Meaningful Work: Through work designs and communications with employees,
organizations can make work meaningful.
5.Clear and Appropriate Roles: Organizations can do much to avoid role-related
sources of dissatisfaction. They can define roles and be realistic about the number of
hours required to complete job requirements.
6. To help employees manage role conflicts, employers have turned to a number of
family-friendly policies. These policies may include provisions for child care, elder
care, flexible work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting, and extended parental
leaves.
7. Organizations should pay attention to the fit between job titles and roles especially as
more and mores Americans feel overworked.
8. Because role problems rank just behind job problems in creating job dissatisfaction,
some interventions aim directly at role elements. One of these is the role analysis
technique, a process of formally identifying expectations associated with a role.
Figure 11.6, Steps in the Role Analysis Technique, identifies the steps involved in
the process of role analysis.
C. Supervisors and Coworkers
1. The two primary sets of people in an organization who affect job satisfaction are
coworkers and supervisors. A person may be satisfied with these people for one of
three reasons:
a. The people share the same values, attitudes, and philosophies.
b. The coworkers and supervisor may provide social support.
c. The coworkers or supervisor may help the person attain some valued outcome.
D. Pay and Benefits
1. Two aspects of pay satisfaction can influence job satisfaction. One is satisfaction with
pay structure – the way the organization assigns different pay levels to different levels
and job categories. Another area of pay satisfaction concerns pay raises.
2. The “Best Practices” box describes how pay policy supports other methods of
fostering employee engagement at NuStar Energy.
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter 11 – Separating and Retaining Employees
E. Monitoring Job Satisfaction
1. Employers can better retain employees if they are aware of satisfaction levels, so they
can makes changes if employees are dissatisfied. The usual way to measure job
satisfaction is with some kind of survey.
3. A systematic, ongoing program of employee surveys should be part of the
organization’s human resource strategy.
3. To obtain a survey instrument, an excellent place to begin is with one of the many
established scales. The validity and reliability of many satisfaction scales have been
tested, so it is possible to compare survey instruments.
4. A widely used measure of job satisfaction is the Job Descriptive Index (JDI). The JDI
emphasizes specific areas of satisfaction – pay, the work itself, supervision,
coworkers, and promotions. Figure 11.7 shows several items from the JDI scale.
5. Some scales avoid language altogether, relying on pictures. Figure 11.8, Example of
a Simplified, Nonverbal Measure of Job Satisfaction, provides a look at such a
scale.
6. Other scales exist for measuring more specific aspects of satisfaction. An example is
the Pay Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ), which measures satisfaction with specific
aspects of pay.
7. In spite of surveys and other efforts to retain employees, some employees inevitably
will leave the organization. An exit interview is a meeting of the departing employee
with the employee’s supervisor and/or a human resource specialist.to discuss the
employee’s reasons for leaving.
ROADMAP: CASE STUDY
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.