Determinants of voluntary turnover in the segmented labour market: The case of a post-transition economy

Abstract

The paper elaborates on the drivers of voluntary labour turnover in Polish enterprises in the context of segmented labour markets. The data consist of primary CAWI survey results collected from 1000 companies operating in Poland. The ordered choice model is used to analyse the propensity of employees from different labour segments to leave an enterprise voluntarily. The study confirms neither the trap hypothesis nor the concept of compensating differentials. However, it reveals that structural factors are the main drivers of voluntary turnover (with a different impact depending on the labour segment). Additionally, the number of labour segments in the enterprise determines the frequency of voluntary resignations only for employees attached to the primary segment. Since the main drivers of voluntary turnover are related to a person’s job satisfaction, this points to the role of HR and managerial practices in reducing the scale of voluntary resignations in companies.