Ties that bind? Race and networks in job turnover

Abstract

This article seeks to clarify the role of race and social networks in job turnover. Analyses using the personnel records of roughly 300 entry level workers in a private organization investigate the extent to which social networks in the job attainment process affect turnover. Specifically, I examine what occurs when the social network contact is from inside versus outside of the company, when the contact is white or minority, and when a contact and applicant share a race or when they do not. Referrals from current employee contacts reduce voluntary turnover while referrals from nonemployees do not provide a turnover advantage. White and minority contacts yield similar levels of job turnover and both generate lower levels of turnover than noncontacts, a finding that lends partial support to social capital theory. Finally, I find modest support for homophily theory; compared to race-mismatched contact-applicant dyads, race-matched dyads have lower levels of voluntary turnover but similar levels of involuntary turnover. The results illustrate the lasting effects of race-based social networks. I propose suggestions for designing research that can further our understanding of the mechanisms allegedly at work in the race, social network, and job turnover relationship. © 2007 by Society for the Study of Social Problems, Inc.