ABSTRACT
To complement traditional inquiries on the psychology of leaving, this chapter examines job embeddedness theory, which focuses on the psychology of staying. Because the motives for leaving are not necessarily mirror opposites of those for staying, embeddedness theory can offer a more comprehensive explanation for why employees participate in organizations as well as identify predictors that can explain additional variance in turnover—notably, fit, links, and sacrifice—beyond that by conventional predictors. We review the extensive research on this construct (including additional embedding forces, such as family embeddedness) as well as generalizations of this construct, such as occupational embeddedness. We next discuss the multifocal model of job embeddedness, which clarifies how different work-based embedding forms (e.g., occupational, organizational) differentially affect work outcomes (e.g., performance, turnover) and specifies how non-work embedding foci (e.g., community, family) moderate work-embedding effects. Additionally, we discuss “proximal withdrawal state” theory (PWST), which differentiates among different mindsets for staying (e.g., reluctant vs. enthusiastic stayers) and how they arise from different embedding forces and manifest different work attitudes and behaviors. Finally, we note recent scholarship on the “dark side” of job embeddedness.
