To escape the pain: Paths to voluntary turnover, social pain, and influences on the selection of a new job role

Summary The unfolding model of voluntary turnover established that there is no “one size fits all” turnover experience. Anecdotal evidence suggests that voluntary turnover experiences can be painful, yet the role of social pain (as distinct from dissatisfaction) in turnover and subsequent job selection has not yet received much scholarly attention. In Study 1, we re‐analyze 13 detailed case histories of employees who had recently quit one organization and entered another. Using a cluster analysis of the terms they used when describing their reasons for leaving and when describing what attracted them to their new roles, we find that experiencing social pain in the prior role affected the things people prioritized when selecting a new role. Furthermore, sentiment analysis revealed that higher social pain was linked with lower positive sentiment (hope, excitement, joy, etc.) during the job search process. Study 2 creates a self‐report measure of social pain, and Study 3 quantitatively reaffirms the relationship between social pain and subsequent affect. This set of studies provides initial evidence that social pain is different from the attitudinal constructs that have been traditionally incorporated into voluntary turnover models (e.g., satisfaction, commitment, embeddedness) and that social pain may have implications for turnover, retention, and employees' post‐turnover destinations.