Three levels of voluntary employee transfer as behavioral manifestations of adaptation to a dissatisfying work environment

Miller and Rosse's (2002) model of work adaptation was used to examine the relationship of three previously undefined levels of voluntary intraorganizational transfer with (1) other postulated forms of work adaptation and (2) satisfaction with one's job duties and one's manager and to examine the moderating effects of job embeddedness and perceived job alternatives on the satisfaction with job duties, satisfaction with manager and voluntary transfer relationships. Hypotheses regarding the relationships between the variables were tested in a lab study. Findings revealed that (1) individuals distinguished between different levels of voluntary transfer and see transfer as a viable means of adapting to or withdrawing from a dissatisfying work environment, (2) the three forms of voluntary transfer were significantly and negatively related to satisfaction with job and/or satisfaction with manager, (3) all three voluntary transfer variables were significantly and positively correlated to one another, and (4) all three forms of voluntary transfer were significantly and positively, though somewhat differently, related to other behavioral forms of adaptation. Taken collectively, these findings provide some empirical support for the categories of adaptive behaviors presented in Miller and Rosse's (2002) updated adaptation model and for voluntary transfer as one form of adaptive behavior. However, the predictive relationships between Satisfaction with Job, Satisfaction with Manager, Perceived Alternatives, and Job Embeddedness and the forms of adaptive behavior examined in the present study were less clear. Study limitations associated with the sample and methodology used as well as implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.