The importance of management style in labour retention

TLDR

Most turnover studies focus on individual attributes, but this paper examines structural workplace characteristics that allow workers of different ages and skill sets to maximize efficiency and earnings, emphasizing the role of management style. The study investigates how management style influences worker retention in high‑turnover industries by exploring these structural workplace factors. The authors used a case‑study design, conducting extensive interviews with workers and managers drawn from an industry‑wide dataset. Positive management actions promote attachment to leaders and the organization, sustaining work values that reduce turnover, and management style is a crucial variable shaping worker attitudes and retention.

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that management style plays in retaining workers in a high labour turnover industry. Design/methodology/approach Case study approach based upon extensive interviews with workers and managers derived from industry wide data set. Findings Positive actions by management promote worker attachment to leaders and the organization and are crucial in sustaining work values that diminish the likelihood of turnover. Practical implications Management style is a variable that is often overlooked in shaping worker attitudes and is crucial to understanding why workers stay in these firms. Originality/value Whereas most studies of turnover focus upon individual attributes, we examine the structural characteristics of the workplace that permit workers of different ages and skill sets to maximise their efficiency and earnings and the role played by management style in decisively shaping that structure.