Preexisting plans to leave as represented on Path 1 indicate that the
employment relationship is intentionally temporary (i.e., there are other
alternatives), and thus, individuals do not make a long-term commitment.
Research on employment relationship suggests that an individual’s commitment to particular relationships reflects a number of factors, including
the quality of alternatives and the size of the investment (Rusbult & Farrell, 1983). This research suggests that, independent of a new employee’s
level of satisfaction with the job, a commitment to stay long term may
be absent when he or she envisions a potentially more attractive alternative and has not made significant investments in the job. Thus, a turnover
decision does not necessarily reflect dissatisfaction or incompatibility but
is instead the result of a small investment in a current job as well as the
opportunity for a potentiallybetteropportunity elsewhere. Such a view
is more common today as individuals become “nomads” who know in
advance that they will quit to pursue other personal or professional endeavors (Pittinsky & Shih, 2004), making them potential candidates for
Boomerang employment.
Importantly, because t