Work Group Demography, Social Integration, and Turnover

Explored the relationships among group demography, social integration of the group, and individual turnover in 79 field representatives from 20 work groups made up of employees of a convenience-store chain. Data were collected in 1979 and at follow-up in 1985. Questionnaire results suggest that heterogeneity in group tenure was associated with lower levels of group social integration, which, in turn, was negatively associated with individual turnover. The more distant group members were more likely to leave. Individual-level and group-level age demography directly affected turnover and were not moderated by social integration. Findings suggest a process by which group demography affects outcomes and support the usefulness of organizational demography for understanding group and individual functioning.