Article: Grit won't quit: how hiring for grit may help reduce employee turnover Journal: International Journal of Business Excellence (IJBEX) 2026 Vol.38 No.2 pp.262 - 286 Abstract: Employee turnover has the potential to cause considerable financial liability for any organisation, regardless of size or locality. Therefore, assessing job candidates with hiring criteria that will identify applicants least likely to quit is essential. One overlooked hiring criterion is grit, passion plus perseverance toward long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007). While grit has long been studied in psychology and education for predicting success, research connecting it to turnover is limited, especially in business. This longitudinal study explored grit's potential relationship to turnover. Online survey data were collected at two time points from 53 employers in the Midwest USA. Results indicated that, when hiring, companies valuing grit effort, the perseverance portion of passion plus perseverance, at time 1 saw lower turnover at time 2. Even while controlling for other skills commonly associated with job performance, companies hiring for grit effort tended to see lower turnover. Recommendations for grit-focused hiring are provided. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Grit won't quit: how hiring for grit may help reduce employee turnover

Authors: Nikolaus T. Butz; Reed Stratton; Abigail Schmidt; Emily E. Gruber

Addresses: University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 1901 Fourth Ave., Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA ' University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 1901 Fourth Ave., Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA ' University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 1901 Fourth Ave., Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA ' University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, 1901 Fourth Ave., Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA

Abstract: Employee turnover has the potential to cause considerable financial liability for any organisation, regardless of size or locality. Therefore, assessing job candidates with hiring criteria that will identify applicants least likely to quit is essential. One overlooked hiring criterion is grit, passion plus perseverance toward long-term goals (Duckworth et al., 2007). While grit has long been studied in psychology and education for predicting success, research connecting it to turnover is limited, especially in business. This longitudinal study explored grit's potential relationship to turnover. Online survey data were collected at two time points from 53 employers in the Midwest USA. Results indicated that, when hiring, companies valuing grit effort, the perseverance portion of passion plus perseverance, at time 1 saw lower turnover at time 2. Even while controlling for other skills commonly associated with job performance, companies hiring for grit effort tended to see lower turnover. Recommendations for grit-focused hiring are provided.

Keywords: grit; turnover; hiring; applicant screening; human resource management; retention; passion; perseverance; interest; effort; longitudinal study; competitive advantage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2026.151661

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2026 Vol.38 No.2, pp.262 - 286

Received: 03 Nov 2021
Accepted: 23 Mar 2022
Published online: 12 Feb 2026 *

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Title: Grit won't quit: how hiring for grit may help reduce employee turnover

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