Marina Schmitz
“Preventing Labor Turnover of Blue Collar Workers in China – Tilting at Windmills?”

Date: June 17, 2014, 6.15pm-7.30pm
Place: CeMEAS-Meeting Room, KWZ-Building, Heinrich-Düker-Weg 14

Marina Schmitz, University of Göttingen
Retaining employees is the crucial issue of HR managers in China nowadays. Especially manufacturing companies in China report turnover rates of 70 percent and above. Thus, it is further necessary to deepen academic understanding of the mindset of blue collar workers, specifically, psychological and sociological aspects of voluntary turnover behavior among this cohort, being the driving force of the Chinese economy. To get further insights into the topic, I conducted interviews with blue collar workers and HR managers in China regarding work related issues, especially asking them about influence factors of labor turnover decisions. Drawing on the knowledge I acquired in the interviews, I am currently developing a survey which should enable me to answer the following research questions: What kind of incentives should the companies offer to make the blue collar workers stay? Which job characteristics are important for the blue collar workers regarding long-term retention? Is there a difference between the blue collar workers working in different regions or differing in demographic aspects?

Marina Schmitz is research associate and doctoral student at the Chair for HRM and Asian Business at the University of Göttingen. She obtained her master in Sinology (Classical Sinology, Economic Studies) at the University of Trier in 2012. In her research she focusses on retention of factory workers and the influence factors of labour turnover in China.

CeMEAS will provide coffee and light refreshments, however feel free to bring along additional food and drinks.