By Bizna Brand Analyst
Everyone has good and bad days at work, but when an employee has too many bad days, he or she may start strategizing to leave that job behind.
If you’ve worked hard to get the best possible people on your staff – the ones most desirable to your competitors, needless to say – you don’t want to lose them due to situations you could prevent.
Here are eight top reasons why the best employees quit their jobs.
Promotion Issues
Good employees always want to progress in life and be leaders. They want their uniqueness to be rewarded by being placed above the rest, hence they leave jobs when there is no upward mobility. A good employee will definitely leave if no matter how hard they work or how well they succeed, there are no opportunities for advancement into higher-paying, more demanding positions. And the sad part for you as the boss is that there will always be someone else willing to employ that high performing employee
Alternatively, if a less qualified or capable team member gets a promotion, high-performing employees may look elsewhere – especially if a former teammate becomes a manager because this simply seems unfair.
Too Much (or Too Little) Work
Good employees are often capable of doing more than they are initially tasked with, which can be a tricky problem. That level of capability can result in an employee being asked to do more work than he or she can handle, which can lead to long hours, frustration at contributing more than the rest of the team and ultimately, burnout.
Alternatively, capable workers may complete their tasks and hit roadblocks when they request more work; the resulting boredom and lack of fulfillment on the job can be just as toxic as being overworked..
Empty Talk From The Boss
There’s nothing more frustrating than a workplace filled with visions and big dreams, but no translation of those aspirations into the strategic goals that make them achievable. Without that connection, it’s all just talk. What talented person wants to spend his or her time and energy in support of something undefined? People like to know that they’re working to create something, not just spinning their wheels.
A Toxic Work Environment
While the ideal workplace would include colleagues behaving professionally, not all personalities mesh so easily. Good employees value good environments. Interpersonal conflicts, office gossip, recognition-grabbing or undercutting of coworkers can lead to a toxic work environment, which might make a capable employee consider quitting.
Inadequate System of Rewards
Raises are miserly, recognition is rare – neither of these company attributes is going to foster company loyalty among employees or encourage them to put in extra hours over the weekend.
When good employees do good work, they should be recognized financially and publicly. Otherwise, someone else will!
Changing Career Goals
Switching jobs multiple times over the course of a lifetime has become the norm: According to research, most people born in the late baby boom (1957-1964) have had around 11 different hobs between the ages of 18 and 48. The current neeration is even worse
If one career field is not fulfilling, it is now fairly common for workers of all ages to start new careers unrelated to the path they originally embarked on. Good employees ho believe in themselves will quickly switch careers quickly if the one they are in isn’t bringing the benefits and lifestyle they want.
Talking with employees about ways in which they can stay in their job while continuing to learn and grow may help companies retain high-performing individuals.
The Bottom Line
As billionaire financier financier Sir James Goldsmith famously said, “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”
While there are many reasons why an employee might quit, rewarding good work with appropriate pay, benefits and recognition creates an environment that lets employees know they are valued.
The best way to retain your best employees? Ask them what they want and work with them to make sure everyone gets what they need.