THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL NETWORKS AND TURNOVER AMONG ENLISTED AVIATION MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL AT NAVAL AIR STATION LEMOORE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

Attraction and retention of qualified personnel, especially to less-than-desirable duty stations, is critical for mission success in the military. Social relationships, both on-the-job and off-the-job, play an important role in affecting the assignment and reassignment decisions of enlisted Sailors. This research examined social networks of enlisted aviation maintenance personnel at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore using a job embeddedness model that measured number of links, organization/community fit, and perceived professional/personal costs of leaving. Survey and qualitative focus group data were collected on-site at NAS Lemoore to build personal network (e.g., egonet) profiles. The findings suggest that Sailors with high levels of job embeddedness have strong levels of social support through a variety of local and non-local relationships both on-the-job and off-the-job. Conversely, Sailors with low levels of job embeddedness who desire to leave NAS Lemoore indicated a lack of social support from local and non-local relationships. This research is one of the first studies that applies social network analysis to job embeddedness theory, suggesting strong consideration be given to the uniqueness of each Sailor’s social network and how it impacts individual turnover decisions.