Why Do People Leave Jobs? An interview with Georgetown Management Professor Brooks Holtom

Working in corporate HR, the cliche statement, "people don't leave jobs, they leave bad bosses," is often tossed around. While there is truth to this statement, I have personally left jobs for other reasons (more money, more flexibility, more upward mobility...).

Global staffing firm Robert Half suggests there's truth to the statement. Their survey found that about half of professionals surveyed (49%) have quit a job due to a bad boss. Alternatively, the 2018 West Monroe Partners study found that "59 percent [of employees] said they would leave because of a more appealing offer from a new company, not because they're seeking an escape from their current company." So what is the real reason? 

Why do people leave their employer?

I reached out to Brooks Holtom, a Professor of Management at Georgetown University, to find out more. Brooks's research focuses on how organizations acquire, develop and retain human and social capital.

Brooks's research appears in the top journals in management (Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and others) and has a high impact (e.g., h-index = 30, i-10 index = 39; 13,000 Google cites). He has performed research in or served as a consultant to many organizations, including Bayer, Booz Allen Hamilton, Capital One, Citibank, International Monetary Fund, KPMG, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Rio Tinto, Rolls Royce, Sprint, United States Air Force, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the World Bank. He received the Human Resource Management Scholarly Achievement Award in 2013 from the Academy of Management and has twice received the Professor of the Year award for the Georgetown University Executive Masters of Leadership Program.

Sarah: What made you decide to devote your career to studying talent management?

Brooks: I started my professional life as a tax accountant working for a Big Four accounting firm. I quickly learned that while business interested me, tax accounting didn’t. So, I asked, “What job would I do if money were no object?” 

Based on my experience as a graduate assistant as a masters-degree student, I realized that I liked teaching and research. Moreover, in contrast to the highly structured and deadline-driven experience in public accounting, the less frantic, more self-directed life of a university professor appealed to me.

So, the next question to address was, “Which discipline?” As noted, I enjoyed business and, over time, determined that the questions that most interested me were around how organizations can attract, develop and retain top talent. That led me to get a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. 

Sarah: You’ve done leadership coaching and training all over the world. Without naming names, what is one of your most memorable coaching experiences?

Brooks: Some of the most memorable and challenging executive training experiences of my life have occurred in the beautiful Italian town of Orvieto, about 90 minutes north of Rome. There, at a former monastery, I have worked with many bishops, archbishops, and cardinals in the Catholic church to implement the financial reforms envisioned by Pope Francis for the Vatican. Implementing change in an ancient, worldwide, and very large institution is a recipe for a good challenge—which I love. Plus, the food and vistas were amazing.

Sarah: I enjoyed your article “ Why people stay: Using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover,” which was a finalist for the Academy of Management Journal Best Paper Award. You talk about two main reasons why people leave their jobs: turnover shocks and low job embeddedness. Can you explain?

Brooks: Our research has found that most people do not daily consider their feelings of attachment to their job or organization. Instead, there are “shocks” or events that happen somewhat randomly that cause them to actively process the question, “Is this the best situation for my family and me?” The shocks might be positive and personal (e.g., getting accepted to a graduate program) or negative and organizational (e.g., getting passed over for promotion). Their key feature is that they prompt reflection on satisfaction, commitment, engagement, or embeddedness. Sometimes people leave quickly after the assessment, and sometimes leaving takes longer. Often people experience shocks and stay.

Embeddedness is the notion that there are important connections between a person’s work and non-work life that need to be considered to fully understand that person’s employment choices

Embeddedness is the notion that there are important connections between a person’s work and non-work life that need to be considered to fully understand that person’s employment choices. Someone who loves her job but really hates were she lives, is not likely to stay in that job long term. Embeddedness captures the degree to which a person fits well in their job and community, has meaningful connections to people and institutions, and would make a big sacrifice if s/he had to leave for some reason. People who experience low embeddedness are more likely to leave than those who are highly embedded. 

Sarah: You’ve written extensively about the benefits of employee recognition for lowering their voluntary turnover. What practical advice do you have for hiring managers reading this article who want to do a better job of recognizing their staff-- especially in this current remote work setting?

Brooks: Make it a regular practice to send personal notes to recognize behavior. These notes might be sent by text, email, or old-fashioned mail. The medium doesn’t matter as much as the message. Be specific. Explain how the action observed benefitted you or others. Express thanks. Frequently.

Sarah: For your research, you reviewed thousands of employee exit surveys. I used to conduct exit interviews as part of my role in corporate HR. I found that people tend to fall into two extremes: They are either extremely honest or completely indifferent. I’ve always said, “Last impressions are just as important as the first,” and if you leave burning the place down, then your former boss may not be willing to give a positive reference in the future. What’s your opinion-- should you be honest on an employee exit survey? Will the information you share be used against you?

Brooks: To avoid any legal risk, organizations are encouraged to simply acknowledge that a former employee worked in the organization for the noted period of time. Providing more information, whether positive or negative, could potentially be used against the firm providing it. So, the reference checking process has become a relatively less valuable tool for hiring firms. There is a new technology firm that is re-energizing this space using social networks to increase the value and decrease the cost of getting reliable information about potential hires. Check out https://crosschq.com/. (disclaimer, I am on their Board of Advisors)

The research is quite clear that employees give more candid exit feedback when they are allowed to talk with a neutral third party (e.g., HR consultant) rather than with their supervisor. Smart employees do not “burn bridges,” as you note in either scenario. The potential benefit personally is low and the potential cost is high. The math just doesn’t support giving a truly honest assessment on the way out.

Sarah: While I am not an economist, the labor market is still volatile, with U.S. employment 11 million below pre-pandemic levels. I graduated from college during the last recession, and despite being a high performing college student, I struggled in 2008 to land a good job. Do you anticipate it being a challenging Spring for the four million 2021 graduates?

Brooks: The short answer is “yes.” Any time you have high national unemployment rates, in general, it will be harder to find a good job. Moreover, there are industries like travel and hospitality that are really down and highly unlikely to hire in the near term. 

However, grads need to understand that this is not personal. They must persist in the face of rejection. They need to cultivate their social networks. They need to continue to apply for jobs and maintain hope. Those of us who have lived through multiple economic cycles know things will get better…with time. 

Sarah: How are you seeing organizations embed new graduates--many of whom have never worked in a corporate setting, let alone a remote corporate setting? What are some best practices for creating strong workplace relationships while we are still working from home?

Brooks: The best organizations recognize the social challenges of bringing in new people remotely and take special care to be intentional in creating connections. Starting meetings with personal updates or good news is one way they are sharing. Others are asking new people to make and share short videos about the “story of you.” Still, others are creating or expanding newsletters to include more social news (e.g., weddings, babies, pandemic pets).

Leaders who take time to ask sincere questions and listen carefully will find their people are more loyal and committed to the organization than those who do not. Relationships matter, and employees want affirmation today more than ever.

Sarah: What is the best career advice you’ve ever received? Did you take it? (I ask everyone this question)

Brooks: One of my all-time favorite quotes is from the famous football coach, Vince Lombardi, “Think of only three things: your God, your family, and the Green Bay Packers in that order.” I think that people who understand and live true to their highest values will be happiest. 

Connect with Brooks Holtom on LinkedIn to read more of his great research and writing.