The effects of polychronic-orientation upon retail employee satisfaction and turnover

Keeping front-line retail employees satisfied, and subsequently reducing their turnover, is important in retail management. This study introduces polychronic-orientation, or an employee's preference for switching between multiple tasks within the same time-block, as an employee trait with important implications for retail employee turnover. It demonstrates empirically that a polychronic-orientation has both direct (employee fit) and indirect (through fairness perceptions) effects on retail employee satisfaction. Moreover, by exploring these effects across career stages, polychronicity is revealed to be a stable and enduring trait but one whose impact is magnified in early stages of the retail career. Implications for hiring and employee education are derived. (c) 2006 New York University. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.