Employee turnover rates are increasing. You may have felt this turbulence within your own company. There are myriad reasons why even good employees quit their jobs, some of which are simply out of your control. But there are also certain things companies and employers do that drive good employees away. Recognizing them is the first and most important step to retaining these company gems. After all, the more you do for your employees, the more they can do for you.
Here are the top reasons why your employees may be quitting their jobs.
1. They Feel Undervalued or Ignored
We all want to be recognized and appreciated for the work we do. However, this isn’t always the norm within the workplace. It’s easy to overlook hard-working employees that may not draw attention to themselves. But being passed over for promotions, raises, or even a simple “job well done” once in a while can build resentment. And such resentment may eventually send them packing.
Of course, you can’t follow your employees around all day and wait for opportunities to praise them. Not only would that interfere with your work, the hovering may also alienate your employees and send them running anyway! Instead, try looking for other ways to reward your employees and celebrate their hard work. Rewards can be as big or small as you want them to be; even a hand-written note can have a major impact on an employee’s attitude. But, if you’re totally stumped for ideas, everybody loves a free meal!
2. They’re Overworked or Burnt Out
A healthy work-life balance is crucial for keeping employees happy and productive. Without enough time to rest, even good employees will begin to feel burned out. They’ll struggle to keep up with work demands, or simply not want to anymore. Conversely, keeping tabs on employee well-being can significantly increase their output. It’s much easier to work when you aren’t exhausted!
Fabulous is designed to help employees balance their work and personal lives in a way that suits them best. But support from the company can be a major boon for tired and stressed-out workers! Encouraging downtime and offering other quality-of-life improvements to the office—like healthy snacks or yoga classes—can make employees feel more valuable to their company while also giving them some much-needed R&R.
3. They’ve Stagnated
Alternatively, it might not be that your employee has too much to do. They might not have enough to do, or they may be bored or unstimulated by what they are doing. People love to learn new things and be challenged. Stagnation is a major motivation-killer; good employees who aren’t given the chance to live up to their full potential will soon seek opportunities elsewhere.
How can you re-engage employees? Mix up their routines! Keep your workers from spending their whole day in autopilot by giving them new tasks to tackle. Offer to train them in new areas. Or, perhaps, invite them to participate in a company-wide Fabulous challenge?
4. The Work Environment Is Toxic
Workplace culture can be positive or negative. There’s really no in-between. The emotional temperature of your company is influenced by everyone who works there but leadership is especially influential to workplace culture. If your managers are negative or toxic, that energy can fester and spread to the employees they manage, not unlike how the flu gets around.
But how does one develop a positive, healthy workplace culture? I’ve got one word for you: camaraderie. Connection and camaraderie among your employees also generates security and trust. When your employees feel secure, they’re less afraid to make mistakes or voice their concerns, which can facilitate helpful dialog and foster other positive changes. Feeling threatened on the other hand, especially by leadership, shuts down these vital lines of communication, leaving everyone in the dark and afraid.
Plus, when your employees and managers feel closer to each other, they’ll all work harder to support and build each other up. Colleagues make great accountability buddies!
5. There’s No Room to Grow
A rigid and inflexible work environment runs the risk of stifling your employees’ innate creativity, which does way more harm than good! Micromanaging or catastrophizing mistakes will only make your employees feel afraid to mess up. Or, worse, it’ll build resentment between your employees and their managers, or with the company itself.
Trust your employees to take risks and implement creative strategies for getting things done. And be sure to reward them accordingly for their success! Dedicated and good employees want to do as much as they can for their company; give them the chance!
6. Management Is Poor
There’s a common adage that says people don’t quit their jobs: they quit their managers. Good managers build their workers up. They can steer their team as a whole toward their goals while also mentoring individual employees and attending to their specific needs.
Bad managers, on the other hand, can derail projects and chase good employees off. Managers need to be people employees can trust and respect. They also need to trust and respect their workers in return. Problematic managers should be retrained or let go immediately.
But also consider that your managers may simply be struggling with problems or stress of their own. A comprehensive wellness program may be enough to improve the quality of your management. No firing or retraining necessary!
7. Compensation Isn’t Fair
Nobody wants a lackluster salary, of course, but compensation is about more than just a paycheck. Even employees who are paid modestly may stick around longer if there are other perks that come with the job they have. Even just having healthy snacks available around the office can entice people away from higher-paying opportunities elsewhere.
There are plenty of quality-of-life adjustments you can make within your company to make it worth it for your employees to stay. One of those things is a comprehensive wellness program. Helping your employees take care of themselves shows that you care about their well-being and want them to stay. Plus, the health benefits they reap will increase their job performance, which is a win for everyone!
8. There’s a Lack of Transparency or Trust
Healthy and open communication is mandatory for a healthy work environment. Leaving employees out of the loop regarding important matters—like layoffs or structural reorganizations—will make your employees feel you don’t trust them enough to keep them informed of matters pertaining to their livelihoods.
When something important happens to your company, it’s vital that all of your employees know, even if it doesn’t directly deal with them. Keeping your workers informed shows you respect and trust them enough to be aware of the goings-on at their job.
9. They Don’t Feel Properly Supported
How is your company’s job training protocol? What would happen to your lowest-paid employee if they were injured and had to miss work? Does your company have a contingency plan in place for workplace harassment?
If something happens to one of your employees, they need to know that there’s a safety net in place to protect them from disaster. They need someone to have their back—ideally, you! Otherwise, they’ll feel lost, frightened, and alone, and may seek work from a company that will train and support them appropriately.
How Fabulous Can Help You Keep Your Good Employees
Good communication and healthy habits can solve most of the problems that drive good employees away. Fabulous can help your workers establish healthy everyday habits, like meditating and exercising regularly. And bringing Fabulous to your company will not only increase your employees’ work performance, it will show them that you care about their well-being.
Workplace wellness programs, like what Fabulous for Work offers, do double-duty to improve the productivity and cultural quality of your workplace.
The direct positive effects workplace wellness can have include reduced stress among your workers, more energy, and a generally happier environment. But there are a lot of indirect benefits, too. When your workers are happier and healthier, they won’t get sick as often, which saves on company health care costs. They’ll also be more focused and productive because they’re less stressed about negativity within their environment or among their coworkers. They’ll also be more creative and adaptable to setbacks or sudden projects with tight deadlines.
And, most importantly, good employees will stick around, saving you the anxiety and financial burden of recruiting and training replacements.
So, what are you waiting for? Are you ready to make your workplace a little more Fabulous?
