A record number of employees are quitting or thinking about it, disrupting businesses everywhere. Companies don't know how to address the problem because they don't really understand why their employees are leaving in the first place. Instead of taking the time to find out the true causes of attrition, companies jump to quick fixes, such as increased pay or financial perks. But employees crave investment in the human aspects of work. They want a sense of purpose and want to feel valued.

Why employees are quitting 

To reduce the prevailing trend, senior executives should understand why employees are leaving. <ul><li>Executives cited compensation, work-life balance, and poor physical and emotional health as the reasons why their people had quit. </li></ul> <ul><li>However, the top three factors employees mentioned for quitting were that they didn't feel valued by their organisations (54%) or managers (52%) or because they didn't feel a sense of belonging at work (51%). </li></ul> The findings highlight that employees prioritise relational factors, while employers focus on transactional ones.

Employers can't fix what they don't understand

The pandemic has irrevocably changed what people expect from work. Heavy-handed office policies are likely to backfire. The best move for a CEO is to pause and consider the next actions together with their employees. Consider the following questions:<ul><li>Do we shelter toxic leaders? Executives who don't make their people feel valued will drive them away.</li><li>Do we have the right people in the right places? In hybrid situations, new leadership skills are required.</li><li>Is our culture in keeping with the needs of our employees?</li><li>Is our environment transactional or relational?</li></ul>

How to turn attrition into attraction

Free parking or entertainment-related perks are not of concern to employees right now. A survey among respondents who had left their jobs showed 45% needed to take the care of their family into consideration. Expanding childcare, nursing services, or other family-focused benefits could help to retain employees.

Changing employee benefits

Employees seek jobs with better, stronger career trajectories. They need recognition and development. Smart companies reward and recognise people for good work by promoting them into new roles and additional levels within their existing ones.

Employees want development opportunities

Remote work is not ideal, but neither is a full on-site return. Employees' needs and expectations have changed, and it will require considerable management attention to encourage connectivity. For example, one organisation encouraged connectivity among employees by offering coffee gift cards to those who signed up for a one-on-one coffee chat with other employees they didn't know to help expand their networks.

Building a sense of community

Executives are misguided if they think employee attrition is easing or limited to specific industries. Surveys across five countries (Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States), show that over 40 % of workers are likely to quit in the next three to six months. Furthermore, people are willing to quit without another job lined up. Even the 60% who said they were not likely to leave in the near future may change their intentions as more employers offer remote-work choices for hard-to-find talent.

The Great Attrition will probably continue

Companies put their businesses at risk by not understanding what their employees are running from and what they might gravitate to. Many employers also fail to invest in a more fulfilling employee experience and fail to allow for autonomy and flexibility at work, causing employees to withdraw deliberately from the traditional way of full-time employment. It can be different if companies make an effort to understand better why employees are leaving and take action to retain them.

Turning the tide

The Great Quit can be conquered and turned into a great opportunity, Here is how to do that.