Turnover in retail service sector franchisee organizations: Exploring how and why low-wage service workers quit

This study explores and seeks to better understand how and why low-wage service sector employees quit their jobs in retail franchisee-operated organizations. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 15 people working in this sector. The first test of the seminal turnover theory, the unfolding model of voluntary turnover, is performed on this unappreciated and understudied segment of working people. The research confirmed one primary theme from the original model: Employees quit in multifarious ways. However, the results also conclude that 80% of the sample is unclassifiable utilizing the model's alternative decision pathways to voluntary termination. This calls into question the use of the unfolding model of voluntary turnover as a generalizable tool in the analysis and interpretation of how people quit their jobs. Furthermore, contrary to the anecdotal supposition of the theory's authors, secondary employees cannot be broadly classified as quick quitters through path 1 in the parlance of the theory, that is, using very little cognitive deliberation and limited effort at searching for and considering alternatives prior to leaving their jobs. In the present study, some participants worked hard and creatively to find jobs, thought carefully and constructively about their decision, and generally utilized thoughtful cognitive processes when expressing their feelings about work. This study is unique because it provides a rich nuanced understanding of hourly-paid working people and their decision-making in relation to their jobs and quitting their jobs.