Manufacturers in the United States have voiced increased demand for qualified workers. According to a 2024 survey, more than half of employers in the industry believe their biggest challenge is finding and keeping skilled employees.
Worker turnover, or the rate at which employees leave their job, is not as high in manufacturing as in other industries. However, worker turnover has a larger impact on company profits in the production of goods.
In this paper, researchers Yuting Li, Rapinder Sawhney, and Guilherme Luz Tortorella analyze data from a 2018 survey of manufacturing workers in Tennessee to explore the relationship between workers’ perceptions about their jobs and the likelihood that they plan to leave their organizations, also known as their turnover intention.
The study examines whether manufacturing workers are more or less likely to stay in their jobs based on how they report the following factors:
- Job satisfaction: the pride or enjoyment they feel in their jobs
- Organizational commitment: their sense of belonging and loyalty to their employers
- Work-family conflict: the belief that their jobs interfere with their home lives or family responsibilities
- Positive view of leadership: if they see leadership as competent, fair, or helpful
- Good job performance: if they complete duties on time, show initiative, and fulfill their overall job responsibilities
This study analyzes only 138 survey responses collected in a single state within a single year, so its findings may not apply in all contexts or situations. However, this research still provides important insight into the factors that may impact manufacturing workers’ desire to leave their job.
Key findings
- Manufacturing workers with higher job satisfaction, stronger commitment to their employers, or minimal work-family conflict have significantly less turnover intention, meaning they are less likely to consider quitting their jobs.
- Many of the factors in the survey are interconnected. For example, having a positive view of leadership is associated with higher job satisfaction.
- High job satisfaction increases organizational commitment. In other words, manufacturing workers who enjoy their jobs usually feel loyal to their employers, making them even less likely to want to quit or change jobs.
- Good job performance does not relate to the turnover intentions of manufacturing workers. While studies in other industries have linked high performance to low turnover, this relationship is not generally true in manufacturing based on the findings in this study. Whether manufacturing workers meet or exceed expectations in their day-to-day responsibilities is not associated with their decision to stay at their current jobs.
Policy and practice implications
The authors and WorkRise identify the following implications for policy and practice:
- Manufacturing companies can provide flexibility and support through formal family-friendly policies to reduce work-family conflicts among employees. For example, organizations can offer different shift options that better suit workers' needs, leverage remote monitoring technologies to allow working from home, or give workers the ability to swap shifts. To support working parents, a manufacturing company in Alabama offers a monthly child care stipend that has already had positive impacts on their workforce.
- Manufacturing employers hoping to limit turnover should learn about their workers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitments. Although the findings from this study reflect the opinions of a limited number of manufacturing workers in Tennessee, these factors may play an important role in influencing workers’ decisions elsewhere. Companies can design and conduct high-quality employee surveys and feedback sessions to gain a better understanding of workers’ feelings toward their jobs and identify specific policy changes that could be beneficial in reducing turnover.
Manufacturing workers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and ability to balance family and work responsibilities may influence their decisions to stay at their jobs. Manufacturing organizations hoping to prevent employee turnover amid high demand for skilled workers can assess these factors and their importance for their own employees.