People are leaving their jobs at alarming rates. If you’re a business owner, that’s probably reason enough to be worried, but it’s still a cause for concern even if you’re not. People who work for you interact with the public daily, and employee attitudes strongly influence customer satisfaction ratings.
When employees have bad attitudes about their work or workplace, that can trickle into customer service. Some employees might also make decisions because they don’t like their jobs or otherwise feel unhappy there.
As an employer, It’s essential to keep an eye on the reasons for leaving a job because you might lose your most talented workers if you don’t.
Employees’ Reasons for Leaving a Job
1. Lack of Career Growth Opportunities
There are still many companies that offer little training or advancement opportunities for their employees. Even if they have a great boss who recognizes their talents and wants to give them more responsibility, they may be nowhere to go within the company. Worse yet, the company may not be growing, so no new positions are available.
2. Insufficient Pay or Unfair Pay Practices
Everyone has different financial needs and goals, but if an employee is not paid what they’re worth or in the marketplace, this is an apparent reason to look for another job. If they’re getting paid less than others doing similar work at their company, that’s a good sign; it’s time to start looking elsewhere.
3. Poor Work-Life Balance
Employees are typically more productive when they have a healthy work-life balance. If they’re working too much or not getting enough sleep, it will show in their performance and productivity levels — which will eventually affect the overall health of your business. In addition to this, if employees aren’t able to take time off from work when needed (i.e., vacation days), stress levels will increase dramatically over time, affecting overall productivity levels for both the employee and their team members.
4. A Lousy Boss/ Manager
The person responsible for managing your day-to-day activities should be someone who empowers you to do your best work while providing guidance when necessary. If your boss doesn’t allow you enough freedom and autonomy to grow within the company or if they treat employees poorly, that will lead to unhappiness on both sides of the relationship — and probably an exit from the company sooner rather than later.
5. Unhealthy/Undesirable Culture
Most people want to work in a company with a good culture. They want to be around intelligent, respectful, and helpful people. They want to work at a place where they feel valued and encouraged to succeed.
The right culture will attract top talent and retain them when times get tough. Companies with unhealthy cultures can lead to stress and unhappiness in the workplace, leading to a turnover.
Summary
While this trend is not solely attributable to the economy, it seems clear that the economy has harmed the likelihood of employees staying in their jobs. Today’s workers want what they’ve enjoyed their whole lives: flexibility, fun, and fulfillment. When they don’t feel they are getting it at work, they leave in record numbers.