Extending the growing body of research on fun in the workplace, the present study examined the relationship between fun and employee turnover. Specifically, this research focused on the influence of three forms of fun on turnover-fun activities, coworker socializing, and manager support for fun. With a sample of 296 servers from 20 units of a national restaurant chain in the U.S., coworker socializing and manager support for fun were demonstrated to be significantly related to turnover. In addition, constituent attachment was found to mediate the relationship between each of the three forms of fun and turnover. This research highlights that not all types of fun are equal and demonstrates that one of the key means through which fun influences retention is by facilitating the development of high quality work relationships. Keywordsworkplace fun, constituent attachment, turnover, retention Fun, Attachment, and Turnover 2 Employee turnover is arguably one of the most significant human resource management challenges confronting managers, particularly in the hospitality industry. For example, turnover rates for entry-level employees in hotels and restaurants can easily exceed 50% annually (Hinkin and Tracey, 2000;Tracey and Hinkin, 2008). Such excessive turnover is both costly and disruptive to hospitality enterprises. Managers are confronted with a continuous cycle of recruitment, selection, and training that strains their organizations as costs escalate and productivity losses ensue (Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). Given high turnover and the need to quickly fill vacancies, managers often fall victim to hiring warm bodies, which only compromises the service experience. Not surprisingly, managing employee turnover in the hospitality industry is one of the key concerns that "keeps managers up at night" (Enz, 2001).Given the negative impact of excessive turnover, determining how to promote retention among entry-level hospitality employees is warranted.The vast body of turnover research has illustrated that classic turnover models account for only a modest percentage of variance in turnover behavior, and researchers have emphasized the need for more theoretical contributions tailored to specific contexts (Felps et al., 2009; Holtom et al., 2008;Mitchell et al., 2001). In their extensive review of turnover research, Holtom et al. (2008) identified job level and job type as key theoretical variables that have often been overlooked in research on the turnover process. The present study takes these characteristics into account by focusing on entry-level hospitality employees, who are typically younger workers who perform relatively low-skill, low-pay work in a highly social employment context.The existing body of turnover research has reached consensus on a number of variables that reduce turnover. Griffeth et al.'s (2000) meta-analysis, for example, demonstrated that job satisfaction, leader-member exchange relationships, and role clarity were among the strongest Fun, Attachment, and Turnover 3 predictors of turn...
Keywords: training climate; training effectiveness; construct validityOne of the growing areas of research in the training and development field focuses on the nature and types of factors outside formal learning contexts that may influence the acquisition and application of new knowledge and skills (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). Although many variables may influence the effectiveness of training and development efforts, an organization's training climate appears to play an important role. For example, previous research has demonstrated that an organization's training climate is instrumental in preparing individuals for formal development activities and achieving desired learning objectives (e.g., Tracey, Hinkin, Tannenbaum, & Mathieu, 2001) and in helping to ensure that individuals successfully transfer their newly acquired knowledge and skills to the job upon completion of formal training (e.g., Holton, Bates, & Ruona, 2000;Rouiller & Goldstein, 1993;Tracey, Tannenbaum, & Kavanagh, 1995;Thayer & Teachout, 1995).The mounting evidence regarding the relevance of the work environment, and training climate in particular, has shifted attention toward broader and more integrative models of training effectiveness. For example, Kozlowski and Salas (1997) presented a multilevel, systems model of training implementation and transfer that described the ways in which variables at one level of analysis (e.g., work environment) may influence or interact with variables at other levels of analysis (e.g., individual motivation to attend training). Research based on this and related models has gener-
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