The moderating role of tenure on the effects of job insecurity and employability on turnover intentions and absenteeism

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence on the role of tenure as a moderator of the effects of job insecurity (JI) and employability on turnover intentions and absenteeism and will demonstrate its importance in personnel research and theorization. Design/methodology/approach Data from a sample of client service representatives of a Peruvian call centre (n=268) were analysed. Tests of hypotheses targeted the intact group as a whole and divided into short (3–10 months), medium (11–14 months) and long job tenure groups (15–37 months). Findings Results of general linear models revealed that the effects of JI on turnover intention observed in the intact group were aligned with those seen within each of the tenure groups. However, this was not the case for the effects of JI on absenteeism or the effects of employability on turnover intention and absenteeism. A comparison of results of various regression models indicated that the effects of JI and employability on absenteeism differed in meaningful ways across the intact group and the tenure groups. Research limitations/implications The evidence does not reveal whether the observed differences stem from dynamic personnel selection processes or whether they express different relationships between the variables at various stages of an employee’s trajectory in an organization. Practical implications Human resource managers at call centres will be stimulated to re-evaluate the costs and benefits of promoting tenure, and journal editors will have to consider requesting the inclusion of tenure as a variable in studies focussing on organizations with high turnover. Originality/value This study is the first to prove that the effects of JI and employability on turnover intention and absenteeism vary across job tenure levels. It also shows the importance of addressing tenure in personnel research and theorization.