I am grateful for my 20 years of HR experience, which frequently comes into play as a life coach for women.

Recently I counseled a woman who was contemplating leaving her job. Nearly every issue she spoke about with me had to do with her boss vs. the job itself.

Why Do Employees Leave Jobs?

The above statement is yet another example of what I encounter often when having these discussions.

Why Do Employees Leave Their Jobs?

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀.

This is an area that many companies overlook -simply chalking it up to attrition, and then moving on to the next warm body. It’s also one that many individual managers (those who often lack basic leadership skills) fail to take personal responsibility for.

We, as business owners and managers, can and should do better in an effort to retain a quality workforce. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference. A real BOSS understands these things.

1. Examine the quality of your team, not just the financial data on your spreadsheets. Hello! Turnover is extremely costly.

2. Ensure that you have the right people in management and leadership roles and that they have the appropriate tools and resources to be successful. Because they are the office subject matter expert, does not mean an individual is capable of managing people.

3. Always provide a means, i.e. an exit interview, for departing employees to speak freely about their work experience. It is this feedback that may save you from losing other employees, or affirm that you are doing something right as an organization. Why do employees leave their jobs? You will likely not know if this isn’t happening

The dynamics of today’s workforce are forever evolving. Employees have a variety of choices, including entrepreneurship, and their tolerance for mediocre and personal disregard has waned, especially over the past 1.5 years.

Three things that have been made clear since the start of the pandemic:

1. Flexibility in work arrangements (hybrid) is a necessity. In a recent survey of employees who are currently looking for new jobs, some 56% of those surveyed said that flexibility was their primary reason to look for a new job, topping higher pay and job security.
2. Few are sticking around while being overworked, micromanaged, and underappreciated.
3. Their mental health matters first and foremost and,
4. Most are not interested in your damn watch. Quality employee rewards/appreciation programs are still desired perks.

What were/are the characteristics of your best/worst boss?

What makes your current employer a coveted organization to work for, or not?