A recent report, where more than 36,000 departing employees were surveyed, looked at the relationship between employee engagement levels and how this affects a person’s likelihood of leaving their job. Not only do falling engagement levels indicate an employee’s intention to quit, but there were some surprising reasons beneath the surface as to why people do leave.
The report indicated that an employee’s departure can be anticipated up to 9 months in advance, something that has real value for businesses looking to reduce employee attrition, improve the employee experience and increase employee retention; and in today’s difficult labour market, could hold the key to continuity of businesses across industry.
People leave unchallenging work, not a challenging workload
A sense of accomplishment is key to employee engagement, and essential for a healthy and rewarding work experience. When employees are able to make progress on meaningful projects, the result is a more engaged, productive and creative workforce.
However, this sense of accomplishment begins to drop for workers around 9 months before departing from a job, revealing that employees are more likely to quit due to feeling unchallenged in daily tasks and activities at work.
Interestingly, employees who are at risk of leaving, more commonly find the workload manageable, indicating it’s not the amount of work but the type of work that could be the problem.
People leave when they can’t discuss pay, not because they feel under rewarded
Employees need to feel appropriately rewarded for their effort, knowledge and skills in order to remain engaged at work; which is reflected in things such as pay, bonuses, benefits and recognition. Employees also want to know that their efforts are not only fairly rewarded, but in line with what other team members receive.
An interesting aspect of how rewards impact employee engagement was also understanding that workers who feel unable to have open discussions with management about pay are more likely to disengage, and subsequently, more likely to quit.
Being fairly rewarded at work is closely linked to a person’s self-worth and the presence of a respectful relationship between employer and employee; and workers need to feel like more than just a cog in a machine, and that management are able to support them both emotionally and financially.
People leave managers, not colleagues, culture or the company
One of the biggest impacts on the overall experience in the workplace is the relationship between employees and management. Being a leader involves more than just delegating tasks and meeting deadlines, but empowering employees to do more, without relying on outdated methods.
Instead of simply handing down instructions, leaders are encouraged to adopt a two-way exchange approach based on skills, knowledge, equality and empathy. These types of mutually beneficial relationships in the workplace have the potential to build a solid foundation from which successful businesses grow, and without this, employees can quickly become disengaged. Nine months before quitting, employees reported a steady decline in management support.
While co-worker relationships are an important aspect of a positive experience in the workplace, compared to management support, it is much less likely to impact an employee’s likelihood of leaving a job, similarly with the company culture or mission.
People leave when they don’t see a path for personal development
Work forms an integral part of a person’s identity and in today’s modern age, facilitating the development of employees at work can be a powerful tool in improving employee engagement. It’s human nature to want to become one’s “best self” and businesses that fail to promote the personal and professional development of its workforce, will see employees disengage and become more likely to leave. The report showed that 9 months before quitting, employees begin to show a decline in relation to ongoing development at work, indicating that all aspects of growth had stalled.
[Understanding Why People Quit – Before It’s Too Late. Dr Joe Cainey. Workday. 2021.]
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