We are living in the age of the Great Resignation and everyone is asking the same question: Why are people leaving their jobs? With this question come’s a lot of other little questions like: are they leaving the job or are they leaving their company culture? Are they leaving management or lack of communication and respect for their position? People rarely just leave a job, to just leave a job. There is always a trail of reasons that fall behind when an employee decides to leave. Our job is to figure out what those reasons are and how to start the process of healthy employee engagement.

Jumping ship

Why are people jumping ship from their current careers? Here are a few reasons why an employee is grabbing the life raft and jumping ship: lack of impact, value, mental health support, and the ability to thrive in the business. What does this all mean? Well, let’s dive into them!

Lack of Impact

It’s Monday morning, you wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, get your coffee, and your out the door to work(or sitting at home in your office). You start your day with a meeting or two, running through the motions. It’s a 9 am to 5 pm, five days a week work week and you have been doing the same job for about three years and are comfortable where you are at. But, you notice at the same time you don’t have any connections, feedback, and haven’t been communicating with your team for quite some time. You start to wonder where your purpose lies and what impact you are making when it comes to your job.

Big Picture: When you aren’t getting the support and connection you need, your interest and impact suffer.

How is what you’re doing impacting your life and others around you? What impact do you have? These are questions that every employee at some point in their career thinks about. Eventually, they will start to ask questions, and if they aren’t answered or feel like the answer STILL has zero impact, they start the job search. This is where you come in. Your job as their employer is to make sure they know what they do has an important impact on not just them but everyone and everything around them. You also need to bear in mind that you also have the responsibility of providing valuable feedback, connections, and open communication to your employees so they know where they are at and where they can go from their current position.

Value

Give your employees a reason to come to work. Your reason doesn’t have to mean you spend tons of money every week giving them gifts(maybe once every couple of months, but we can talk more about that later). A person has to feel like they are 1. Valued as a human being, 2. Valued as an employee, and 3. The work they deliver makes an impact. They need to know that if something tragic happens, their job will be flexible and understanding. But also knowing that if they excel in a project or in a job operation that you recognize, reward, and value their work. This inherently will make someone want to keep working and value their job as well as see how what they do makes an impact.

Mental Health Support

We live in 2022, if you aren’t supporting and respecting that your employees need mental health support then you aren’t giving the support you think you are. A little harsh, I know but so is mental health! We are all humans and if we aren’t mentally healthy, then that affects our physical health and then everything goes down from there. Now, I am not saying to be everyone’s therapist but I am saying that getting to know your employees, having the open door policy, and creating a culture where they feel comfortable coming to you with their struggles, will go a long way and have a deeper impact on your company than if you shrug it off. Just a thought.

Thrive in Business

This one directly relates to why they work for you and how they are able to grow in their role. People are constantly searching for the next best thing or how they can evolve in their current position in life and business. Now, I am not saying to go give every employee a raise and now you have conquered this giant. Nope. You have to think about the bigger picture. How can giving just a raise make this employee feel like their thriving in this business? Once you start asking yourself that question you will realize that this question requires something else… it requires you to have a relationship with that employee and understand what makes them feel accomplished, happy and overall what will make them want to stay? From there, you can find that starting line, take a position and get ready to run.

If you take away anything from this blog, take away this: We have to think about who we are hiring and what comes with them. You cannot just hire someone and expect them to stay without knowing who they are, why they are working for you, what their goals are, and what inspires them.

Happy Engaging!

Connect with Anita Emoff at: [email protected]

Anita Emoff – As Chairman and Owner of Boost Engagement, Anita oversees operations and sets the example for a driven, positive culture for the company. Her passionate personality brings out the best in our organization and our staff. Anita aspires to engage people and inspire company cultures to think outside of the box.

Check out Anita Emoff’s Book: 7 Deadly Myths That Will Destroy Your Company Culture, Workforce Engagement, & Sales Growth