16 Reasons Why People Quit Their Jobs

As a HR professional, it’s your job to hire the right people for the job. No matter what you do, there is always a fair bit of employee turnover. Do you ever scratch your head and wonder why people quit their jobs?

People quit their jobs for a wide variety of reasons. While every situation is unique, most of reasons why people quit their job is something that could have been controlled by the company. When a good employee chooses to quit, it’s often preventable.

Employee retention is an important factor in any company’s success. No employer wants to lose an employee, but when they do, it’s disruptive, costly, and frustrating.

Here are 16 reasons why people quit their jobs:

1. No Opportunity For Advancement – LinkedIn claims that this is the number one reason why people quit their jobs. If there is no way for them to climb the career ladder, they have to go someplace else to get a promotion.
2. Terrible Bosses – Management plays a direct role in how happy employees are at work. Bad leadership is a quick way to drive your employees away.
3. Job Wasn’t As Expected – Every new hire has certain expectations of a job, if those expectations aren’t met, they may decide to search for a job where they will get what they want.
4. Seeking More Challenging Work – People want to challenge themselves. If they feel underutilized and that their work is meaningless, they will want to move on.
5. Want Higher Pay/Benefits – Pay, perks, and benefits play a role in every job. If you don’t pay a competitive wage and offer attractive benefits, there is no reason for any employee to stick around.
6. Lack of Recognition – Tell people they did a good job. It makes them feel valued.
7. Feel Micro-Managed – When everything an employee does is scrutinized under a microscope, they don’t feel that they can grow and be creative. Give your employees a bit of freedom and independence to be the professionals that they were meant to be.
8. Poor Communications – If you feel like you don’t know what’s going on, it can be frustrating. Poor communications can lead to a disconnect between the employees, the leadership, and the company. It often results in people leaving for different jobs.
9. Ready To Escape The 9 To 5 – In today’s tech-savvy world, people hate sitting in an office. They want to be able to telecommute. If you don’t let them telecommute, they’ll find a company that will.
10. Company’s Financial Stability – When sales are down, stock prices plummet, and layoffs are inevitable, employees get scared. They may leave sooner than later.
11. Wrong Cultural Fit – Company culture plays an important role in employee satisfaction. If someone doesn’t fit into the culture, it’s best that they move on to someplace where they fit in.
12. Feel Overworked – Overloading an employee with works leads to stress – and no one wants to be stressed out, especially if they aren’t compensated for their hard work.
13. Lack of Feedback – A little bit of feedback goes a long ways. It shows that you care about your employee’s work and that you notice what they are doing.
14. Hire And Promote The Wrong People – Putting the right people in the right places is the key to success. It’s kind of like a giant Jenga puzzle, if one piece gets out of whack, the entire building can crumble.
15. No Professional Development – Employees want to develop as a professionals. Help them seek the right education and training to become better. When your employees improve, so does your company.
16. No Work/Life Balance – If it’s all work and no play, something has gone terribly wrong. Employees need to find an appropriate work life balance if you want them to stick around for the long term.

Now that you know why employees leave, use this information to your advantage. Most of these reasons are within your company’s control. In order to boost your employee retention rates, open up communications. Reach out to your employees and see what they are thinking. Lead, engage, and develop your people. Show them that you appreciate them. It’s an on-going process, but it’s not a hard as you think.

When you’re recruiting your next superstar, be open and honest with potential candidates. Try to paint a clear picture of the job and what the future holds for a candidate. Identify the reasons why people quit their job early on and try to adapt and be flexible. This will help you keep the best employees around and help to drive your company to success. Good luck.