NEW YORK, NY – As U.S. companies intensify their efforts to retain employees, a new study by Columbia Business School Professor Adina Sterling uncovers a critical yet often neglected dimension of workplace dynamics: racial disparities in voluntary job turnover. Job turnover poses a significant financial challenge for employers since it affects substantial costs in recruitment, training, and lost productivity annually. The study reveals that voluntary turnover is significantly influenced by race and access to resources. Black workers are more likely to leave their current jobs due to a lack of resources. In contrast, White workers tend to quit their current jobs for better opportunities, further perpetuating racial inequities in the workforce.
The paper 'This is Why I Leave: Race and Voluntary Departure' examines how societal structures and organizational processes contribute to racial disparities in job turnover. The study reveals that Black workers often quit jobs due to external challenges like inadequate transportation or health issues. In contrast, White workers are more likely to leave for what Sterling terms 'resource-enabled' reasons, such as taking a new job or starting one’s own company. This dynamic may not only exacerbate racial inequality but also impact the upward mobility of Black workers. The data shows that overall, Black and White workers do not differ in their rates of voluntary turnover overall. However, Black workers have a 17% higher rate of quitting their jobs due to resource disadvantages compared to White workers. Conversely, White workers have a 11% higher likelihood of leaving a job for resource-enabled opportunities, including starting one’s own business and returning to school. White workers were also more apt to quit to take a new job than Black workers, further compounding the racial mobility gap.
"This study reveals significant racial disparities in why employees leave their jobs, with Black workers often leaving due to resource shortages and White workers for better opportunities," said Professor Adina Sterling, the Katherine W. Phillips Associate Professor of Business. "It's vital for business leaders and policymakers to grasp and tackle these issues, as they underscore deep-seated inequalities that can disrupt workforce stability. Proactively addressing these disparities is key to creating inclusive workplaces that effectively retain diverse talent."
For her study, Professor Adina Sterling used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) to analyze job departures among 8,984 individuals born between 1980 and 1984. This comprehensive dataset, gathered via computer-assisted personal interviews, tracks participants from adolescence into their mid to late-30s, providing a detailed look at employment patterns and job turnover. Sterling employed Cox proportional hazard models, a statistical tool for analyzing time-to-event data, to assess the rate of voluntary job departure across different racial and ethnic groups. The models factor in a range of demographic, job, occupation, and employer-related variables.
Additional Findings Include:
- Ethnic Disparities in Job Searching—Hispanic workers exhibit a 15% lower propensity than Whites to quit their jobs voluntarily. They are also less likely to quit their current job for a new job compared to Whites, mirroring vulnerabilities seen in Black workers. Asians were found to be less likely than Whites to voluntarily depart from their current jobs. Asians had a lower propensity than Whites to leave for resource-constrained reasons.
- Gender Dynamics in Job Departures—Women are more likely than men to voluntarily leave their jobs, and they are more likely to leave their jobs due to a lack of resources (due to health, etc.). The hazard rate for women leaving due to a lack of resources is nearly 50% higher than it is for men. Women are less likely to leave than men due to resource advantages, highlighting gender differences in workplace experiences.
"I believe business leaders and policymakers must create and enforce policies that tackle the specific barriers Black and Hispanic workers face in the labor market," said Professor Sterling. "We need further research to identify the structural factors within organizations that contribute to these disparities, paving the way for more effective interventions. This is essential for building truly equitable workplace environments that support all employees."
To learn more about the cutting-edge research being conducted, please visit Columbia Business School.
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