The Great Resignation trend has empowered 4 million workers to quit their jobs on a fairly regular ... [+]
If it comes as a surprise that your employee tendered their resignation, you weren't paying attention. People don’t just quit on a whim. The decision has been simmering and building up for a long time. An empathetic supervisor would have seen the red flags early on and taken proactive measures to remedy the situation.
There is no excuse for a manager to miss out on the signs of an employee who is unhappy and disconnected. The Great Resignation trend has empowered 4 million workers to quit their jobs on a fairly regular basis. The massive attrition rate of workers should have every boss on high alert.
The costs of not knowing the mindset of your workers are exorbitant, in both time and money. Putting together a job description, retaining recruiters, posting jobs online, searching, screening and on-boarding candidates could take three to six months. With inflation raging, the price tag of a new employee will be significantly higher than what the person who left earned.
The Society for Human Resource Management, the largest human resources organization, conducted research to find what actions predict a person may leave the company. For those clueless bosses, here are red flags you should watch out for to see if your team is feeling disconnected and considering leaving for another opportunity.
- Work productivity has decreased more than usual.
- The person is performing less like a team player than normal.
- They have been doing the bare minimum amount of work more frequently than in the past.
- The staff member has been less interested in pleasing their manager and is unwilling to commit to long-term timelines.
- The person exhibits a negative change in attitude, puts in less effort and demonstrably lacks motivation.
- They have exhibited less focus on job-related matters than usual and express greater dissatisfaction with their job and supervisor on a more frequent basis.
- They leave work earlier than usual.
- There has been a loss of enthusiasm for the mission of the organization.
- Interactions with co-workers and customers have significantly declined.
Forced Back To The Office
If the company is solely in-office without any other choices, the one-sided policy immediately creates a problem for a large percentage of employees. After two years of remote work, people got used to the autonomy they had in their day-to-day lives. They’ve cultivated hobbies and reacquainted with spouses, partners, children, friends, neighbors and the community. Remote employees built a better work-life balance. Now, it's all gone and they’re angry and resentful.
Managers must offer reasons as to why employees should come back to the office. They should consider increasing their salary to compensate for the commute and the high costs of eating breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner out, as opposed to buying in bulk when at home.
People want choices. If a company refuses to offer hybrid, remote, flexibility, relocation to other cities or states at the same pay rate and other work styles, you will have a disgruntled and disengaged workforce, whereby a large segment of the population is actively seeking out a new job.
If your workers are coming into the office late, taking a lot of sick days, dashing out for long lunches, taking frequent breaks with the smartphone—likely calling recruiters—and sneaking out of work before 5 p.m., you have a big problem brewing.
Remote And Hybrid Signs
Pay close attention to how your staff approaches video meetings. If members of your team consistently arrive on Zoom calls late, have an untidy background, poor lighting, lackluster sound quality and spotty internet connectivity, along with a disinterested demeanor, it's a warning sign. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re immediately quitting, but it demonstrates that they’ve lost interest, lack passion and motivation and have mentally checked out.
A worker who seemed disconnected and apathetic starts to come into the office or on the video displaying brand-new stylish corporate attire, a happier aurora and is unfazed by any tasks or criticisms given. A naive supervisor will feel that the person has come around, due to their great management skills. The reality is the opposite. The person doesn’t care anymore. They’ve made up their mind to leave, but are covering their actions, so no one knows what they’re planning. It could also be a tell that they have another job lined up and are happy that they’ll be resigning shortly to start a new chapter in their work life.
How A Manager Can Turn Things Around
By noticing these and other warning signs, you can intervene before it's too late and the person leaves. Consider having a one-on-one with the employee—a “stay” interview. Tell them how much you appreciate them. Share what their career progression will look like. Offer a lateral move within the company, a promotion, raise, bonus or job craft the role to provide more challenging responsibilities.
Send out microsurveys to gain the temperature of how people are feeling about the work environment. Ask for feedback on the improvement of working conditions. Listen to the employees when they share their opinions and advice. Don’t take it as a personal attack.
Put together bonding exercises, such as meetups, retreats, camping or rafting trips, to build teamwork. Host video meetups to connect in-office and remote workers. Celebrate victories. It could be a pizza party or a group outing to a picnic in the park. The goal is to build camaraderie and a fun environment. People are much more likely to remain with an organization if they have strong bonds with a tight nucleus of work-friends. Implement the initiatives and solutions employees offered in their feedback to demonstrate that you care and want to keep them happy and engaged.
