Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the life history of withdrawers who quitted their jobs. 285 life history items with MMPI, CPI, and aptitude tests were administrated to 91 employees in 1985 and 295 employees in 1995. 30 factors of the life history items were observed by hierarchical factor analysis of 116 continuous items from the life history items. The mental, psychological, and aptitudinal meaning of the 30 life history factors were interpreted from the correlation between the factors and the subscale scores of MMPI, CPI, and aptitude tests. 10 types of life history were identified by clustering the employees and most of the members of one type named 'Entreprenuer' among 91 employees in 1985 were quitted their jobs within 10 years. There were statistically significant mean differences between withdrawers and others in three among the 30 factors and 23 items among the life history items. The characteristics of life history of people who quitted their jobs, the interaction effects between the life history of employees and the organizational culture on turnover, the practical and theoretical implication of this study, and several suggestions for future research were discussed.