Human Capital Management, Human Resources
Most Common Reasons Employees Leave Their Job
Taking simple steps to increase employee retention can have a significant impact on your company. To keep good employees motivated and happy with your company, you must create a positive work environment and provide opportunities for growth.
Here’s more about the top reasons employees leave jobs so you can redesign your culture to make employees want to stay with your company long-term.
Why Do Employees Leave Their Jobs?
Employees leave their jobs for a wide variety of reasons. While some may leave their current jobs due to personal reasons such as retirement, relocation or taking care of a family member, many employees leave because of their employer or work environment.
You can reduce employee turnover by making sure you avoid common reasons employees leave a job, which include the following:
1. Lack of Growth Opportunities
Similar to how organizations want to continuously grow their business and processes, your employees want to continuously grow their skills and build their careers. Employees are likely to leave a company if they feel like they have little to no growth opportunities.
They want to learn and develop skills. You can help them achieve these goals with the proper resources. Your employees will be more likely to stay with your company if you offer them training and chances to grow in their careers. When employees have opportunities to learn and meet their goals, they’ll feel supported, cared for, motivated and equipped to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
It’s also important to provide opportunities for promotion when possible. Promotional opportunities can motivate employees to work toward higher positions and feel a sense of accomplishment as they advance their careers. By promoting internally, you can help your teams feel more important and relied upon, increasing their confidence.
2. Poor Job Flexibility
If an employee’s work overflows into their home life or leaves them with little to no self-care or family time, they’ll most likely look for a job that offers more balance and flexibility. You can help your employees maintain a healthy work-life balance by offering remote opportunities and flexible schedules.
A flexible schedule could mean giving your employees the option to start work earlier if they have an afternoon appointment or allowing them to work later into the evenings to free up their mornings. You could also give employees the option to take their breaks at times that work best for them and their productivity levels.
Many employees enjoy the opportunity to work remotely because it gives them the option to work from wherever they please and eliminates long commutes they don’t get paid for. This can help employees save time and money and contribute to overall job satisfaction.
If you can’t offer remote work or flexible scheduling, consider checking in with your employees to make sure their workloads are manageable. Make sure employees can complete work during work hours so they can use their time before and after work to enjoy themselves and spend with friends and family.
3. Poor Company Values
An employee is more likely to trust and respect a company when it has strong values and lives up to its values. Without strong values, employees may lose their passion and motivation for the work they do. You can boost morale and productivity by implementing strong values in your organization’s goals, processes and culture.
Consider focusing on your company’s values with the following tips:
- Regularly communicate your values to employees.
- Reward value-centric actions.
- Incorporate your values into processes, aligning your external marketing with your internal messaging.
- Follow the principles and values you enforce to lead by example.
4. Lack of Purpose
Employees desire to feel that their work has meaning and purpose. Individuals are more likely to stay at a job if they feel that the work they do makes a difference and they’re helping the company make a positive impact.
Pride in a company’s purpose can motivate employees to stay long-term and do their best work to help the company accomplish its goals. To boost employee retention, educate your teams about why your organization exists, the problems it can solve and how their work makes a difference in others’ lives.
5. Negative Culture
A 2021 MIT study revealed that toxic company culture is 10 times more likely than unfair compensation to cause employee turnover. When a workplace lacks respect, ethical behavior, equity, diversity and inclusion, employees will likely feel uncomfortable and seek a more positive environment. Creating a positive work culture will help you boost morale and retain more employees because they’ll feel safe, supported, comfortable and accepted in their work environment.
6. Discouragement and Lack of Recognition
Discouragement and a lack of recognition can lead employees to look for a job where they feel accepted, appreciated and valued. People feel motivated when they know their efforts are recognized and appreciated, and they’re more likely to stay with a company that acknowledges their work in meaningful ways.
You can recognize your employees’ hard work and express appreciation in the following ways:
- Give bonuses or pay raises when possible and appropriate.
- Plan a company lunch or picnic.
- Hand out care packages and gifts for special occasions, like work anniversaries.
- Personally thank employees for their hard work.
- Regularly offer positive feedback.
7. Unsupportive Leadership
Unsupportive managers and supervisors can cause employees to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. When employees can trust and rely on an organization’s leadership, they’re likely to feel more motivated and increase productivity. Your organization’s leadership can improve by practicing empathy, supporting employees’ mental health, offering positive and constructive feedback and helping employees with work tasks when needed.
8. Low Compensation or Poor Benefits
While positive culture, supportive leadership and excellent job flexibility can significantly increase employee retention, compensation and benefits are one of the most important parts of a job for workers. Even if an employee values an organization’s purpose and enjoys their work, a person’s main reason for holding a job is to earn a paycheck and pay their bills.
It’s essential to make sure you pay each employee a fair and equal wage and offer a good benefits package to meet employee needs for health care, dental coverage and other important factors.
Consult With Exude to Increase Employee Retention
Redesigning your company culture and creating a work environment that makes employees feel motivated can significantly increase employee retention. As a result, your company saves the money it would spend on recruiting and training new employees.
Employees value a positive atmosphere and quality leadership that supports their growth. They’re more productive when they work for an organization with strong values and integrity.
Exude offers solutions to help companies reach their goals. Exude consultants can help you transform your company culture, work environment and leadership to better support your employees and create a workplace where people are proud to work.
Contact Exude to learn more about how Exude consultants can help you increase employee retention.
