Turnover decisions of women accountants: using personal histories to understand the relative influence of domestic obligations

Abstract

Studies of accountants' turnover intentions have been unable to demonstrate a clear link between conventional job-related antecedents and women's higher rates of turnover. This study utilizes narrative histories of three women, including the author herself, who have exhibited actual turnover behaviour to examine the factors underpinning their turnover decisions. The findings demonstrate that while the study participants did identify job related factors, their turnover decisions were more significantly influenced by a complex interaction of job and domestic factors. This article thus recommends that an understanding of women's turnover decisions must first utilize research methods such as narrative history that allow the complexity of factors influencing their decisions to be identified and second, must incorporate greater consideration of specific domestic drivers of the cumulative workload/stresses of both job and domestic factors.