Alan Kirschenbaum

Underlying Labor Market Dimensions of "Opportunities": The Case of Employee Turnover

The underlying labor market and organizational source of alternative job opportunities is re-examined here and applied to investigate employee turnover behavior. We contend that by refining this concept in terms of perceived and objective opportunities and market reference points, a clearer appreciation of this concept and more powerful model of turnover will emerge. To this end, a cross-sectional and multistage longitudinal survey of 700 employees was conducted in eight medical centers at seven distinct labor market locations. Measures of perceived and objective opportunities in internal and external markets were introduced into logistic regressions which clearly showed that objective opportunities are a far better set of explanations of actual turnover behavior than either perceived internal or external market opportunities. This relationship is further explored and its complexity woven into a labor market-oriented turnover model.

Well being, work environment and work accidents

We examine factors that influence accident proneness among employees. We agree that the determinants of accident proneness include organizational, emotional and personal factors. Using logistic regression we estimated three models, and their predictability for accident proneness among sample of 200 injured workers interviewed upon entering hospital emergency wards in Israel. Work injuries were not contingent on age, religion, nor education. The effects of gender were strong but non-significant. Subcontracted and higher-paid workers are more likely to get repeat injuries. Prior injury experience sensitized employees to stronger perceptions of risk associated with unsafe practices. Large family households, ameliorates stress feelings and lessens the likelihood of accident proneness while poor housing conditions have the opposite effect. The full model demonstrates considerable prediction of injuries when focusing on type of employment, personal income level, being involved in dangerous jobs, emotional distress and a poor housing environment. The model contains most of the significant results of interest and provides a high level of predictability for work injuries.

Generic sources of disaster communities: a social network approach

This paper utilizes the generic source of “community” to define a disaster community emphasizing disaster areas’ perceived boundaries and the social networks that fall within these boundaries. Three such “disaster communities” are proposed based on family‐kin, micro‐neighborhood, and macro‐neighborhood social networks. Utilizing an Israel national representative sample of (814) urban households residing in 150 municipalities, a set of hypotheses were tested regarding the impact of disaster communities on individual disaster preparedness behaviors. In general, more socially robust communities brought about greater levels of individual preparedness but with significant exceptions by type of preparedness. In addition, the predictive ability of such disaster communities on each preparedness component varied. Ethnic and educational composition of the networks had a negligible impact on disaster preparedness behaviors. Overall, the use of social network based disaster communities provides a sound theoretical and empirical foundation to study disaster behaviors.

Employee turnover intentions

Most empirical studies testing models of turnover intentions have relied on samples of specific organizations or occupational groups, raising reservations as to the generalizability of their results for broader and more comprehensive populations. To begin to fill this gap, a nearly national sample of employed urban males was utilized and sub–populations were examined in terms of their turnover intentions. A set of biodemographic, organizational, perceptional and job satisfaction variables were incorporated into a multivariate analysis to determine factors best explaining turnover intent. At a second stage, the overall measure of job satisfaction was substituted by four component factors: intrinsic, extrinsic, hygienic and social, which were obtained by a factor analysis of thirteen job satisfaction items. The results of the bivariate and multivariate analysis strongly suggest that specific case findings are congruent with this studys national level of turnover intent. Older age, longer periods of service...

The corporate transfer: Origin and destination factors in the decision to change jobs

Abstract Corporate transfers are made within multi-plant organizations and are sensitive to organizational factors which impose a set of restricted internal labor market job opportunities and limited destination choices upon the potential mover. Both these factors influence the variable sets available to the decision-maker. To evaluate these differences, a framework of corporate transfers is suggested and empirically evaluated. An analysis of the intent to move in an Israeli multi-plant corporation showed such potential movement to be extensive. Factors affecting a decision to move between plants more closely resembled the process involved in migration than turnover. The availability of housing assistance and the desire for a more varied and diversified life played key roles in the decision to move between corporate plants. Destination choices were guided by a similarity between a potential migrant and the character of the population at alternative destinations. These results suggest that the decision process involved in corporate transfers are related more to a residential than to a job change. With increasing numbers of the labor force employed with multi-plant corporations, greater attention must be paid to this type of potential manpower flow and factors influencing it.

Tourism and immigration: comparing alternative approaches.

Abstract Using survey data from ex-Soviet Union tourists visiting Israel and eligible for immigrant status, this article investigates alternative factors which affect the probability of a tourist making an immigration decision. The developed tourism-immigration model is based on predictors associated with push-pull migration, social capital, and tourism theories. The results of cumulative logistic regression models suggest that the probability of an immigration decision is based on a set of mutually reinforcing factors: well-established and supportive relatives at the destination along with intentions to own property and engage in business activities. Motivations are found as primary contributors to explaining and predicting a probable immigration decision.

Performance of disabled persons on a chordic keyboard.

Fourteen disabled persons used a one-hand chordic device for typing. This keyboard was designed to minimize physical exertion and to inhibit unwanted psychomotor reactions so as to facilitate its use by persons with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and related disorders. The keyboard fits the fingers of one hand. A character is typed by pressing a combination of fingers corresponding to a typing code developed earlier. Typing rates of text transcription ranged from 8 to 14 words/min after 5 h of practice. These results indicated that the physical configuration and cognitive operation of a chordic keyboard would permit disabled persons to use computers.

About the risks of back pain and work environment

Abstract A study of 250 employees from mine work organizations laid the basis for statistical analysis. These organizations included five production and four service oriented worksites. Analysis shows that a significant difference exists between back pain severity and physical exertion at the job. The risk of incidence of severe back pain—in contrast to its sporadic appearance—actually tends to decrease as the physical effort involved in performing a task increases. Characteristics of working population revealed that there is a general increase in the rates of back pain as tenure at work increases. Viewing the data more closely reveals that tenure at the job generally increases the risk of more serious back pain as compared with that of sporadic sufferers. The risks of sporadic back pain are comparable, regardless of both degrees of effort required to perform a task and the type of effort needed. Only slight differences can be found by the type of physical, mental, or emotional effort involved.

Spousal interdependence in turnover decisions : The case of Israel's medical sector employees

Gender-related labor behavior traditionally has been sensitive to and symptomatic of changes in the labor force and the social structure. Two developments in family life call into question the traditional gender model of work behavior, which posits the family versus job dichotomy: (a) the greater share of economic responsibilities assumed by female spouses, and (b) the greater male involvement in family life within married couple families. A multivariate model that encompasses demographics, work conditions, and family constraints was regressed on the actual turnover behavior of male and female spouses. The analysis reveals that male and female respondents differ in the importance they assign to employment conditions and work attitudes, but they do not differ in the importance they assign to the other spouses employment and family responsibilities when a turnover decision is considered. These findings support the notion of spousal interdependence in turnover decisions. This interdependence nevertheless is asymmetrical, since the turnover antecedents are caused by the impact of different predictors for men and women.

CITY-SUBURBAN DESTINATION CHOICES AMONG MIGRANTS TO METROPOLITAN AREAS

An analysis of destination choices among metropolitan bound migrants in an already highly urban society is a means toward gauging trends in the urbanization process. The results of this paper indicated that destination choices were strongly influenced by SMSA size, with larger SMSAs and particularly their suburban rings attractive to migrants. This pattern suggested the further growth of the larger SMSAs, to the detriment of those smaller in size. In addition, the varied status of migrants entering the ring pointed toward its increased heterogeneity. Yet, among small SMSAs, the central city received more and higher-status migrants than the ring. Here, destination choice was also linked to similarity to the migrants past residence. Regional differences emerged, and a closer examination of small and very large SMSAs suggested that destination choices were influenced by previous patterns of urban growth.