The Relationship Between Family-Friendly Workplace Policies and Accountant Turnover

Abstract

Prolonged high turnover rates have caused a shortage of accountants; unfortunately, managers have not successfully taken action to avoid these circumstances. Reducing the high turnover is necessary for accountant managers to replenish the accountant shortage, reduce turnover costs, and protect the accounting industry's reputation for supporting its employees. Grounded in the social exchange theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between three familyfriendly policies, childcare support, alternative work schedules, and work-family culture and accountant turnover intention. The participants comprised of 185 accountants who responded to the NSCW questionnaire. The results of the multiple regression analyses were significant, indicating that formal and informal family-friendly policies were significantly related to turnover intention. Further, demographic subgroups displayed different relationships between variables.

Ecological underpinnings of niche identity and diversity within the profession

“…Diversity reflects the demographic make-up of a workplace, based on a number of attributes such as gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status and disability; it is the mix of identities in an organisation. By contrast, inclusion is the degree to which the individuals, once hired, are incorporated into the everyday life of the organisation, including accessing opportunities and progression on an equal basis (Landgraf, 2022; Davis et al ., 2021; Lewis, 2021).…”

“…For new employees the perception of inclusivity against a range of intrinsic and extrinsic values may guide their initial choices of employer, for example, family-friendly and flexible workplaces (Landgraf, 2022) or equal pay and progression (Davis et al ., 2021). As part of the ecological inheritance, perceptions are formed of occupations and professions (Saemann et al ., 2007) and the choice of where to work may be affected by intrinsic and extrinsic values (Jackling and Calero, 2006; Schoenfeld et al ., 2017) and may be more important than feelings of belonging and inclusion.…”