The Top Reasons Employees Leave

When running a company, one of the problems that you will inevitably face will be a valuable employee leaving the company, and while sometimes this cannot be prevented (for example if an employee wants to spend more time with their family or relocate to another city to be closer to a loved one), it is important to be aware that there are ways in which the situation can be anticipated and steps are taken to encourage workers to remain loyal to your business.

The opportunities perceived by your workers together with your work culture and environment are all elements that are considered when employees are weighing up the pros and cons of whether to move on to pastures new. Here are some of the top reasons given by employees when quitting their job:

If a boss is too demanding and unreasonable, or alternatively fails to listen to the concerns or opinions of their workers, this is a recipe for disaster. Dissatisfaction with their manager is the main reason cited by employees for searching for employment elsewhere.

While a boss doesn’t need to be friends with their workers, they do need to have a positive attitude, supplying feedback and direction in an appropriate manner and taking the time to pay attention to any issues raised by their staff. If employees feel that they can approach their manager without fear of intimidation or being ignored, they are more likely to remain loyal. Remember that respect goes both ways.

If workers are bored by their job and lack challenge in their daily work, they are likely to start to look elsewhere for a more rewarding experience.

By working closely with employees, managers can ensure that every worker is engaged in their work and feeling excited about the possibilities being given to them on a daily basis.

When there is a bad atmosphere in the workplace, employees aren’t happy in their work and begin looking for opportunities to leave. If there is in-fighting amongst colleagues or a cliquey or unfriendly attitude towards certain staff members, this is sure to breed discontent.

It is important to take the time to find out if there are problems between any groups of workers and to take steps to stamp out workplace bullying or poor attitudes. When workers have a positive attitude towards each other they are likely to be happy in their job.

When workers fear that their job is at risk, they will start hunting for work elsewhere. Salary freezes, poor sales, reduced working hours and layoffs are all signs to the employee that they need to look for more secure employment.

It is vital to keep employees up to date with happenings in the company and the business’ future plans for financial stability. It is also important to ensure your employees trust your management team, and building up their respect for your decision-making process is key to persuading them to stick with your firm.

If workers feel that they are receiving no appreciation or recognition for the good work that they do, they will begin to feel resentful and start to think about going to work for a company that shows them greater respect.

Corporate culture is a big part of preventing the loss of workers for this reason. Providing plenty of genuine praise and recognition whenever it is deserved will help to retain employees whilst also offering up-to-date, relevant employee benefits.

Corporate culture has a key role to play in the retention of employees, and evidence has shown that workers are on the lookout, not only for benefits and compensation but also for genuine care, respect and support from their managers. Without those things, they will soon consider moving on to a company that is prepared to give them what they are looking for.

You should take the time to think about your work environment and the culture that it represents. Are your employees satisfied and engaged, and most importantly, do they feel like valued members of the team? Providing more events, activities, team-building opportunities and celebrations for your staff will help them to have a more positive attitude to their workplace and bring the whole team together as one cohesive unit.

As well as this, think about how you can make life as easy as possible for your staff. For example, are salespeople having to walk right across the office to the admin department to discuss new customers and their requirements? Why not eliminate the friction and move the departments closer together. The flow of the workplace is one of our main considerations when we design an office space.

Paying attention to these key factors will help to reduce staff turnover and help to keep your most talented employees on your team. By making these small changes, you will save yourself the time and effort of having to constantly advertise for and interview replacement workers, and save your business the expense of training new employees. Remember, happy staff are more likely to stay.