Reasons Good Employees Quit

Many managers struggle to figure out the reasons good employees quit and why their staff turnover is always so high. This is because most of these employees do not explain themselves as they walk out the door, saying only that they have decided to move on or have been offered a position elsewhere, which only adds to the problem. Managers will most likely blame others for the constant outward flow of good people, but they should really be looking at themselves and what they are doing to add to the reasons good employees quit, since the majority of the time, it is their own actions causing it.

Overworking the Staff

It can be extremely frustrating when hard-working employees have to constantly pick up the slack for others who are not pulling their weight. A manager who knows these reliable people can do the extra work don’t seem to have any problem adding to the pile already on their plate and rarely see the unfairness of doing so while allowing the less worthy employees to slide by doing the bare minimum. That’s why overworking the most efficient people is one of the top reasons good employees quit their jobs. The only way to make it worth their while is to give these employees some incentive to take on the extra workload. This could include a raise or a promotion, extra vacation time, or even a better title. Showing them their manager appreciates their hard work enough to reward them for their efforts is a small step towards keeping these employees happy enough to keep coming in every day.

No Recognition for Good Work

When an employee puts all of their time and effort into completing a given task to the best of their ability, and within the confines of a deadline, it is not necessary to throw them a party, but managers often fail to even acknowledge the work put into this task. This can make a great employee feel that the effort wasn’t appreciated and make them wonder why they even bothered putting so much of their time and skill into their assignments in the first place. This problem can be solved very simply, by telling your employee what a great job they did, or supplying them with a bonus or another small reward to show them that their hard work is appreciated. The more you acknowledge their efforts, the more they’ll want to succeed in all of their duties, and this will no longer be one of the reasons good employees quit working for your company.

Too Much Recognition for the Bad Ones

Being forced to work with someone they dislike, or someone who slacks off and leaves the heavy work for everyone else to do, makes it difficult for a decent employee to continue doing a job they would have otherwise enjoyed. This can cause angry feelings and stressful situations that a decent employee would rather not be a part of and give them the perfect excuse to take their skills and their loyalty elsewhere. Watching others who have praised and fawned over the managers get promoted without actually doing their share is even worse, because those people have not earned their higher ranking position. A good worker will feel resentment, not only to this lesser member of the staff, but also to the manager who is more interested in surrounding themselves with sycophants than with those who can actually help the company succeed. These actions will chase a hard worker to another company, who will then reap the benefits of the former manager’s poor choices.

Failing to Honor Commitments

When a manager forgets, or just ignores, their promises to their staff, it becomes yet another of those reasons good employees quit. Big or small, these commitments matter to your staff, and they will not only remember your failed promises, they will also lose respect for you each time it happens. This will affect not only how they see you, it will also affect their loyalty and their commitment to your company. There is one exception to this, and that is if a manager physically cannot keep this promise for reasons that are out of their control. But that doesn’t mean they can just simply ignore it and move on without some kind of explanation or alternate promise that could keep your employee on your side and willing to make some type of compromise that suits everyone involved. Doing so will keep any decent employee on your team instead of searching out a new one.

Making Things Too Easy

Truly exceptional employees want to be challenged on a daily basis. If a manager gives them tedious or repetitive tasks every day, these people will get bored, which could lead to them considering other lines of employment. You don’t want monotony to become one of the reasons good employees quit. To reduce the likelihood that this boredom will turn into a search for a new career at another company, it is necessary for managers to give their employees new and exciting tasks, which will force them to use their skills in ways that may not be in their comfort zone at that particular time. Only a poor employee will refuse a task that may seem daunting at first, while a good one will tackle it head-on. This could even help your employee develop skills they never knew they were capable of, and they will appreciate the fact that their manager had enough faith in their abilities to encourage them to try something challenging and new.

Ignoring Natural Creativity

Along with making their work too easy, managers have also been accused of stifling their staff’s creativity, forcing their employee’s to do things a certain way because “that’s how it’s always been done.” This is a huge mistake, since decent employees may have their own ideas about what the best way to accomplish a task could be. They may even be able to come up with more efficient ways to do certain jobs, which will not only save the company time, it could also be more cost-effective, depending on the task. Trusting your staff and giving them the freedom to try new and innovative ways to work will show them their opinions are valid and make them feel more respected in the work place. Ignoring their natural instincts and limiting them in the way things are to be done will reduce how much they enjoy their job, adding to those avoidable reasons good employees quit. Even if it makes a manager uncomfortable, it is worthwhile for them to give their staff some freedom.

Failing to Give Feedback

Not only do employees want to be recognized for their hard work, they want feedback from their managers to help them to improve their skills. Rather than accepting their work and having someone else fix it, or fixing it yourself, hand it back and give them some constructive ideas on how to improve what they have done. Decent employees also want their managers to listen to them if they have concerns or ideas about their assignments. Giving them your full attention to address these matters honestly and directly will help to build a relationship with employees that is based on trust and even friendship. This could even have some unexpected bonuses, such as learning an unknown area of interest an employee has, which could lead to new assignments to keep the employee’s interest in the company firmly in place. Listening to your staff is such a simple thing, but can mean so much in the long run.

Not Caring About Employees

Though a manager isn’t required to be best friends with every member of their staff, there is nothing worse than working for one who obviously does not care about you. Working for an uncaring boss is one of the top reasons good employees quit, because no one want to spend every day working hard for someone who is cold and impersonal. Asking how an employee is, showing concern when they are experiencing difficulty at home as well as at work, and even chatting with them during a coffee break can go a long way. Of course, there is a line between being friendly and being professional, and the best managers have learned where it is and walk it carefully every day. The ones who don’t find themselves constantly hiring new staff to replace the good employees who won’t put up with someone who only cares about what they can do for the company.