According to a Gallup Poll, 41 percent of respondents listed “engagement and workplace culture” as their predominant reason for quitting their jobs. Only eight percent of participants blamed problems with one’s supervisor, and only four percent pointed the finger at senior leadership.
While conventional wisdom often maintains that bad managers are the top driver of resignations, these numbers reveal a more nuanced reality. Recent research suggests the real reasons today’s employees leave their jobs, and they might not be what you would expect. According to the Sloan Management Review at MIT, it’s usually not inadequate compensation, which ranks 16th on the list.
Rather, there’s a much stronger correlation between turnover and toxic corporate cultures. As the article’s authors write, “A toxic corporate culture is by far the strongest predictor of industry-adjusted attrition and is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover.”
In toxic company cultures, employees don’t feel safe or respected. Competitive, aggressive, or unethical behavior may take place, and instead of working together as a team, members focus on assigning blame or setting others up to take a fall. Maneuvering for attention and recognition takes precedence over openness and collaboration. People might even steal credit from others. An atmosphere of defensiveness permeates the workplace.
No one wants to spend most of their time in such a negative environment. Fostering a healthy and positive workplace is one of the foremost responsibilities of any business leader. Here are my five tips to do this.
1. Build a sense of camaraderie
Gallup found that when employees have a close friend at work, they are twice as engaged in their role as others. When 60 percent of a team has a job “best friend,” safety improves 36 percent, customers are 7 percent more engaged, and profitability shoots up 12 percent.
Nurturing interpersonal relationships on your team is vital, as these connections should be characterized by mutual respect and trust. Only when people feel comfortable and safe will they share what they think openly.
Indeed, when employees feel cynical or insecure at work, they can even hide their knowledge. Studies show that when businesses fail to access the whole team’s knowledge, skills, and resources, leaders tend to make less advantageous decisions, leading to reduced productivity. Transformational leadership, on the other hand, minimizes knowledge-hiding behavior and creates a favorable working environment.
2. Develop realistic expectations
When business leaders and managers set their expectations too high, they often sabotage themselves. According to Harvard Business Review, 35 percent of executives fail due to a perfectionistic, achievement-oriented mindset, making them feel “chronically dissatisfied.” When employees feel that their efforts are never good enough, it makes sense that many stop trying. The more they feel squeezed, the more motivated they are to start a job search.
That’s why it’s necessary to double-check your company’s KPIs. Are they comparable to industry standards? Or are you expecting your employees to do the impossible?
When setting goals, involve every relevant team member in the decision-making process. Employees should be able to agree that the goals are achievable. Otherwise, you risk setting them up for disengagement or burnout.
3. Manage Accountability
If you have an employee who is struggling with performance issues, it’s still important to hold them accountable. However, how this is approached is critical.
For best results, managers should personalize their approach to the specific employee. Some people can handle more direct feedback, while others might require more tact. If you know that a specific staff member has recently gone through a tough time or has a history of trauma, then special care is warranted.
In my experience, a productive way to have such difficult conversations is to focus the employee’s attention on the goal, approach it as a team, and collaborate on achieving it together. Establish clear expectations, confirm the employee understands their part, and provide regular check-ins to give support and cultivate teamwork. When conflict can be addressed as a task or process issue, team members are less likely to take it personally.
Avoid framing people as the problem and accusing them of things at all costs, as this is likely to provoke a defensive reaction.
4. Support work-life balance
A recent Reuters article reports that 57 percent of workers would decline a position that would negatively impact their work-life balance, including the flexibility to work remotely. When asked to rate their priorities, respondents rated a healthy work-life balance just as important as pay.
Today’s workers expect flexible work arrangements as well as a holistic company culture that prioritizes their well-being.
5. Promote growth and development
According to a survey by The Conference Board, 96 percent of participants rated professional development as essential or very important, and 58 percent said they would even be likely to quit if their company didn’t provide professional development opportunities.
When management makes a long-term investment in staff, employees tend to return the favor with increased loyalty. That’s why it’s a good idea to discuss each employee’s career aspirations and find ways to enable them to grow their skills and advance within the company. Otherwise, a recruiter could easily tempt them to go elsewhere.
Improve retention, improve results
When a business loses an employee, it loses that individual’s skills, experience, relationships with customers, and institutional knowledge. It also needs to spend more time, money, and energy finding that person’s replacement — much less training them — and it can take years for that new person to match the former employee’s performance. Meanwhile, the remaining employees can find themselves facing additional work and wondering if they should leave.
When organizations reduce turnover, however, they reap other rewards as well. As employees feel more supported and engaged, they become more dedicated. This can materialize in increased productivity and revenue. Long-term, competent, and motivated team members serve customers well, which reflects positively on the whole organization and can inspire customer loyalty.
Prioritizing your business’s culture and promoting employee engagement keeps employees on your team. By following the above tips, you can ensure your workplace is a healthy, positive place that attracts high performers.
