So What the Hell is Turnover Contagion?

The world in which people work for the same company for decades or their entire careers no longer exists, at least not for most of us. People often change jobs and even careers several times throughout their working lives.?

Additionally, the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to complicate the labor and employment situation. In today's job market, the employer needs to cultivate ways to keep employees loyal, thereby protecting the investment in their most important asset.

Reasons for leaving a job:

?Several reasons exist for leaving a company.?Consider the following:

• Personal reasons may include following a spouse to a different location for their job. Choosing to stay home full-time with children or care for a parent or relative often requires that people leave their employment.
• Professional reasons such as changing careers, accepting an advanced position with more pay, or pursuing a higher degree or other education to advance a career may cause a resignation.?
• Organizational reasons include things such as:
• Lack of job satisfaction
• Poor work/life balance
• A damaged employer reputation as seen in the press or through Social Media
• Turnover contagion

What is turnover contagion?

Turnover contagion?represents a relatively new phenomenon in the business world that results in more than one or several employees leaving a company at nearly the same time. This domino effect happens when an influential person, often a manager or supervisor, resigns or gets fired, and subordinates and other colleagues follow suit.?

The employees who subsequently leave the company may do so out of loyalty to the supervisor, or they may find themselves questioning the validity of the job if influential people suddenly leave their positions.?

Those who stay with the company may deal with the psychological effects of the person suddenly leaving and, at the very least, may find it difficult to view their positions or the company positively.?

Causes of turnover contagion:

Human beings qualify as herd or social animals. The followers wait for the leaders to take the plunge before deciding to make a move themselves. Those in higher management positions often cause a wave effect or reaction if they leave a lucrative job. Those choosing to look elsewhere due to the actions of another don't necessarily need to know the person who initially left, only that they thought it necessary to pursue employment elsewhere.

The turnover contagion reflects in both the collective and individual aspects of society. Though we may follow someone out the door because of their leadership and influence, we also think about what represents the best situation for us.

The COVID-19 Pandemic caused a couple of changes in our work lives that contributed to the growth of the turnover contagion. First, many of us experienced a lengthy quarantine or the need to move our offices into our homes. Whether working or not, the time at home gave us plenty of time to reflect on what we want in a career and reconsider our priorities.?

Secondly, the labor market continues to tighten as more and more jobs become available, and not everyone wants to go back to the same position or, in some cases, any job. With freelance opportunities and two-income households learning to make it on just one paycheck, the unemployment rates continue to drop.

Cost to the employer:

When an employee leaves, replacing them doesn't always come easily, and it never comes cheaply. In addition to needing to hire a new person, the company also deals with these losses:

• Losing the money they invested in their training
• Losing the knowledge the employee obtained and retained about the business
• Dispersing the workload on other employees

Ways to encourage employee loyalty:

Awareness of turnover contagion and other reasons people leave their jobs represents half the battle.?Make sure your employee retention plan includes the following:

• Don't prevent social interactions; encourage open communication.
• Understand that positive dispositions and attitudes of employees measure as just as influential as those disgruntled.
• Create a productive and pleasant work environment.
• Make sure employees receive access to learning and promotional opportunities.
• Come up with perks and benefits beyond those usually expected.
• Pay raises may not fit into the current budget but may impact the bottom line positively when you consider the cost of hiring and training new employees.

Communicating and demonstrating to employees that they represent the most critical asset will help reduce turnover contagion. For more information on turnover contagion and how you can benefit from it by sticking it to your competition, please contact us?here.