Voluntary Turnover Among Middle-Level Managers: An Analysis Of Perceived Causes

Automation and corporate restructuring have led to a serious decrease in the number of middle-level managers. While this may bring positive outcomes (e.g., increased organizational efficiency and productivity), problems arise when cutbacks lead to the voluntary turnover of highperforming managers the organization wanted to retain.This study investigated the perceived causes of such turnover. A survey of 2,200 lower, middle, and upper managers revealed that perceived causes of such turnover vary across organizational levels. Lower and middle managers place greatest importance on lack of control and input on the job; upper-level respondents see dissatisfaction with rewards and interpersonal conflict as being the most important causes of middle-manager turnover. These results and their implications are discussed.