Memo to workers who can't hold down a steady job: it could be partly genetic.While studies have suggested that genes influence employee satisfaction, researchers have for the first time linked genetic factors to job turnover.
Using genetic data and questionnaires from 2401 pairs of identical and fraternal twins, University of Minnesota researcher Brian McCall, Ph.D., calculated the siblings' job satisfaction levels, their work values (such as whether they enjoyed challeges), and the frequency with which they switched jobs and fields. Genetic factors, McCall reports in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, explained a third of the twins' job changes and 26 percent of their career changes Even when work values and job satisfaction were accounted for, one in five job changes and 15 percent of career switches were attributed to genetic factors.
