The Impact of Staff Turnover on Workplace Demands and Coworker Relationships

Turnover among clinical staff can have detrimental effects on service provision and organizational efficiency. But how does it affect staff who remain employed at the agency? Researchers at the Institute of Behavioral Research at Texas Christian University sought to answer this question by examining the impact of staff turnover on perceptions of workplace demands and support among 353 clinical staff members from 63 outpatient substance abuse treatment programs. Study results documented that counselors in high-turnover programs reported higher demands (job stress, inadequate staffing) and lower support (communication, collaboration) within their organization, even after controlling for other factors such as decreasing budgets, increasing census, and individual measures of workload. Findings underscore the need to intentionally promote workplace communication and collaboration among staff following the departure of a coworker in order to reduce stress and minimize subsequent turnover among remaining clinical staff.