Consistency Matters: The Curvilinear Effects of Climate Variability on Turnover

Abstract

Climate research has been conducted through different lenses, ranging from global perspectives (summary of employees’ perceptions about an organization as a whole or of what we call “positive” or “negative” climates) to relatively focused perspectives (strategic climates, such as a climate for of service or justice). In this study, we examined climate variability, defined as the level of dispersion across climate dimensions, to explain turnover at the organizational level. Drawing on signaling theory and the stressor-strain perspective, we tested the curvilinear and moderating effects of climate variability on turnover using a large and heterogeneous database composed of 25,288 individuals from 150 small-sized to large organizations in different industries. After controlling for global climate, we found that climate variability has a curvilinear effect on turnover. Although low levels of climate variability have mild effects on turnover, moderate to high levels of climate variability are associated with increasingly high turnover rates. Moreover, climate variability also plays a moderating role in the relationship between global climate and turnover such that a high level of climate variability impairs the beneficial effects of a positive global climate on turnover. Implications for theory, practice and future research are discussed.