Why your people are quitting (and what you can do about it)

2020 and 2021 have been horrible and it shows. People are exhausted – we all are.

People are exhausted – we all are.

Workwise, this past year has been such a scramble that we’re managing to take a breath only now. And as you take a breath, you also realise how heavy the past 18 months have been on you.

If there was one thing that you managed to gain, was more freedom from work and more flexibility in your hours. Now, though, companies are bringing people back in the office, flexibility is disappearing and understandably you are resisting it.

And you are not alone.

41% of people want to quit their job.

Yes, you read it right, 41% of people are considering quitting.

You think this does not concern you?

Think again.

Chances are you will see your team pull back from getting back into the office and resisting any other policy, and they are not wrong – so if you don’t want to lose them, you need to know what’s behind it and what to do.

You will see your team pull back from getting back into the office and resisting any other policy, and they are not wrong – so if you don’t want to lose them, you need to know what’s behind it and what to do.

Why your team is quitting (3 drivers)

Simplifyling, there are three drivers that are pushing people to quit right now.

1. Companies are rushing everyone back in the office
2. People are burned out
3. Leaders have lost touch with their teams

1 – Companies are rushing everyone back in the office

I’ve written about this before. Briefly, now that remote work is not the only chance anymore, companies want their teams to get back in the office.

Why? Several reasons: more interaction, more cross-pollination of ideas, more in-person relationships, better sync and communication…

The downside of this is all on the teams though

The downside of this is all on the teams though: more commuting, less personal time, less flexibility, and not being used to being around others anymore – and having all of that taken away can only lead to two outcomes: resentment and burnout.

2 – Collective burnout

It’s a fact, our whole society is undergoing a burnout

Our whole society is undergoing a burnout

Technically, burnout means feeling:

• a sense of exhaustion even before your workday starts
• a sense of distance, disconnection from your job – not liking what you do anymore
• a sense of lower productivity and effectiveness

In practice, burnout means looking for something different than your work because of these three factors happening at once.

Thing is, we are all taking a breath at the same time now, thinking about what we are doing, why and for whom – and all of a sudden we are feeling the weight of the last 18-months.

Is everyone prepared or able to push through and keep working in their current position? Very unlikely, unfortunately.

3 – Leaders have lost touch with their teams

One factor that goes against everything is that now leaders feel like they are in a good place.

Leaders feel like they are in a good place

Leaders now earn more, take more days off, have good relatioships with others.

All of this while their teams are struggling with commuting, relatively lower income and trying to strike a balance between their working life and their private – all while resenting their company and leader for putting them in that position.

What to do

All these trends point in the same direction:

Leaders need to step up and reconnect with their teams, and C-Level and HR Managers must give them the skills and resources to do it

Leaders need to step up and reconnect with their teams, and C-Level and HR Managers must give them the skills and resources to do it

People don’t trust their company (why should they, after having been forced to get back in?), they may choose to trust their direct manager – and trust in their managers is exactly where we need to push most of our resources right now.

Here is why:

A sense of trust in the company offers you the biggest ROI right now, so double down on it.

The numbers are there, so there are only two questions you need to answer to:

As an HR / C-Level, are you ready to invest time and resources in it?

As a manager, are you ready to do all it takes to gain your team’s trust?

Say “yes”, please – after this year your teams deserve it.

Then get in touch, I’ve developed something to help you move to a hybrid work model.