Top Reasons Why Employees Say They Are Looking For New Jobs
Here are the top reasons we’ve heard candidates say they’re leaving companies.
Research is showing that toxic work culture has risen to the #1 reason employees leave their jobs. If you haven’t already, check out our latest article explaining why and how toxic work culture has become such a huge issue.
Everyday we speak with employees across North America who are actively looking for or open to new opportunities. In our recruitment and research, we always seek to gain a deep understanding of:
Why a candidate is willing to leave their current company, and
What they are looking for in their future company and role (including management style, company culture, and compensation)
Based on hundreds of interviews we’ve had in recent months, we’re sharing our findings on common themes that have surfaced.
Reasons why employees want to leave their job
NOT BEING HEARD
One of the common reasons employees want to leave is because they feel like their managers or company leadership do not listen to their staff. Sometimes companies seek feedback, acknowledge the issues from that feedback, but do very little to address the issues unveiled. This feeling of willful neglect or stagnation chips away at an employee’s faith in the company.
We also recognize that some of these experiences are likely rooted in poor communication. For example, there may be things that a company is doing to address issues, but leaders have not communicated all of those actions or timelines to employees. This leaves staff wondering if anything is being done. Even if the plans for improvement are not fully ironed out or set in motion, try giving employees an ongoing window into how leadership is working on those issues. Any and all transparency that leaders can provide will help build trust with employees and can reduce the likelihood of people jumping ship due to ambiguity or doubt.
LACK OF LEADERSHIP
This reason has come up more frequently in the recent year. Many employees have voiced that they believe their current leadership is not skilled at leading teams, does not lead by example, or fails to call out bad behaviour from other employees. In addition, many said that their current managers had no experience leading teams.
Leading teams is a critical skill that does not come easily, but everyone needs to start somewhere. The problems we’ve been hearing often stem from two scenarios:
A company hires or promotes someone who is an excellent individual contributor, but who has had little to no opportunity to develop leadership or management skills before stepping into a manager role. Ideally these promising employees would have a chance to develop and practice the aforementioned skills in more contained scenarios. For example, they could mentor junior staff or conduct internal trainings, all while receiving guidance and feedback from their own managers and peers. Without being able to sharpen these skills beforehand, these managers are often left to build the plane as they fly it.
A company has hired someone who is ready to start leading teams and has at least mentorship experience. However, this new leader has not been given continued leadership development after stepping into their manager role. This continued development is critical, especially at the early stages, to ensure this new leader is able to go beyond managerial oversight and be competent in motivating, leading and building culture. We should always remember that even leaders need leaders!
DISRESPECTFUL TREATMENT
This is a topic people are hesitant to mention with hiring managers, and will rarely bring up in an actual interview. Luckily, our team is able to create a safe space for these conversations. The reality is that disrespectful behaviour happens more often than you’d think. Even if it might not be rampant across an entire company, it can be happening within an individual team, department, or 1-to-1 relationship. In fact, we know from Bullying Canada that 40% of Canadian workers experience some form of workplace bullying on a weekly basis.
Disrespectful behaviour can take many shapes - i.e. through passive aggression, humiliation, intimidation, and unrealistic demands, amongst others. It can be done publicly, in front of other coworkers, or be confined to those 1-on-1 interactions. With remote work, this type of behaviour could slide under the radar with even more ease. That’s why it’s important for leaders to address this behaviour quickly and, in some cases, publicly to help employees and other leaders understand what type of behavior is and is not allowed.
It goes without saying that there should be a zero tolerance policy for disrespectful behaviour or bullying at all companies. If you are currently experiencing disrespectful behaviour, workplace bullying, or harassment here is some additional information that can help identify types of behaviours and how to deal with them. You can also contact Bullying Canada for specialized support in this area.
OLD SCHOOL MANAGEMENT STYLES STILL EXIST
When a manager is overbearing, demanding or aggressive in their management style it can be a huge demotivator (as well as mentally draining). These old school styles of management based in anger, threats or even manipulation are driving employees out the door.
Overwhelming research has shown that people perform better when they feel like their work is valued and they’re treated with respect. Employees are also more likely to share their ideas and feedback when they do not fear aggressive responses. Creating a culture where people feel they can be open and honest is critical for productivity and innovation. That means avoiding micromanagement and the quick penalization of ideas that often builds an echo chamber. (Baby boomer legacy of managing) - more rampant 20 years ago but still exists. Surpsed to see. Startups have more open and agile management styles. Younger generations course correcting. From the past but not built for the future. Irony is that managers with this style are because they were taught this from their previous superiors and it has permeated the culture. They can be a big part of the ongoing toxicity. Be the end of the line. It’s been a learned behaviour from their past managers. In order to change, there needs to be an assessment of the culture - check out article insert.
The irony is that leaders who adopt this management style often do so because they want to produce the best possible results. They just forget sometimes that their teams are trying to achieve the same thing!
POOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
It should be no surprise that diversity and inclusion have become a top priority. Glassdoor reported that 76% of employees said D&I is an important factor when evaluating companies and 32% would not even apply for a job at a company that lacks D&I amongst its workforce.
There have been candidates we’ve spoken to who continue to face or witness discrimination in their workplace. There have also been candidates who said that their companies talk a lot about D&I (i.e. through workshops or information sharing), but then fail to make any real changes to the way they do things or how they hire.
From the recent Diversity & Inclusion survey we conducted with employers, we found that many leaders are working hard towards improving their company’s D&I. However, they’re coming up against challenges, such as limited resources or fragmented buy-in from executives. Improving D&I is an ongoing journey rather than a one-time sprint. One of the biggest places companies can move the needle is through the talent they hire.
Our take
The priorities for both businesses and candidates has been shifting and clashing like tectonic plates on steroids. There has been so much disruption in the past two years and it seems like the biggest issue looming over everything is that companies have had neither the time nor the resources to both adapt and progress simultaneously. The pressure has led to quickly made decisions around talent and project priorities, mostly focused on reactivity vs. proactivity. In many cases, this was necessary to survive.
We hope that the insights from our conversations help illustrate what gaps have formed over the past year. The truth is that candidates are much more understanding than managers believe. A large portion of issues, or the perception of issues, stem from miscommunication. Seeking more feedback from employees (both open and anonymously) as well as having frequent and honest touch bases would go a long way in addressing many of the “reasons for leaving” above.
And overall, it’s time to catch up to the times. It’s time to hang up those old school management styles and start prioritizing building a culture around respect, trust, diversity and inclusivity.
At Ari Agency & Ari Executive, we’ve spent almost two decades helping companies build future-ready teams and leaders. We specialize in the most in-demand talent across digital, marketing, design and innovation-focused functions including executive leaders. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your talent strategies and find your next all-star.
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