Why They Left

The 6th edition of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em was launched in March. I’ve always concentrated on the "LOVE" word, but we’ve collected oodles of info on the “LOSE” word.

Here are A-Z one-liners that we’ve actually heard from individuals that caused them to leave or disengage (!) but stay. Which ones could be coming from one of your employees?

Ask – My manager never seemed to want to get to know me.

Buck – I think my manager actually could have kept me, but I don’t think he ever saw it as his job.

Careers – I guess I just never saw a future for myself here. I don’t mean I expected the path all laid out, but I did expect that somewhere, someone would talk to me about my future.

Dignity – I generally felt respected in this organization, but that was not the case for everyone. I remember feeling embarrassed when a manager humiliated his administrative assistant in front of several of her colleagues. It was so disrespectful, and no one said or did anything about it.

Enrich – The job just became ho-hum. I mean, I was good at it, my customers were pleased, but I was just plain bored.

Family – Now this wasn’t a big thing, but it certainly added to everything else. There was one time that I remember distinctly when my child was in a soccer game and I wanted to attend. My manager made it clear that he did not approve of my leaving work early to see her game.

Goals – The only career path I saw was up – and up was in short supply. I felt stuck.

Hire – We hired in a hurry and didn’t think about the fit between the new hires and the rest of the team. It ended up hurting everyone.

Information – I never felt like I was really a part of the organization… I mean, I often read about what we were doing in the news!

Jerk – I know one department that kept losing talented people, one after the other. It was no mystery, really. The manager was a complete jerk.

Kicks – My boss held the “all work, no play” philosophy. Work was simply not the place for fun.

Link – I just didn’t feel very connected. In the time I was there, I never had much opportunity to meet anyone outside of my immediate work unit. And my work unit seemed to be made up of a lot of lone rangers.

Mentor – I wish I’d had someone to warn me about some of the political ins and outs that were never written in any policy manual.

Numbers – My friend’s boss told her that she could be easily replaced with someone who costs a lot less. He said it half-jokingly, but she knew that there was a serious side to his statement. She left because she wants to work for someone who values the work she does.

Opportunities – I left for a better opportunity.

Passion – The work was okay, but my heart wasn’t in it.

Question – Twice in the last year I came up with some slightly unorthodox ways of approaching a problem. Each time I was told simply, “It would be against our rules to do it that way.” I quit offering my ideas.

Reward – It wasn’t about the money, really. Oh, sure, a bonus would have been nice when I brought that new client in or when I finished those specs ahead of schedule. But a “thank you – I noticed” would really have been appreciated.

Space – My boss gave me no space to think or create or even manage my own time. I felt controlled and hemmed in with no room to grow.

Truth – I can handle the truth. Why couldn’t they just tell me?

Understand – My boss never really understood me.

Values – I don’t think my manager really understood what I value most. I felt like I had to leave my real self at home.

Wellness – To be successful there meant giving up too much of my life outside work, and I was not willing to do that.

X -ers and Other Generations – I saw three talented employees leave. We tried to treat everyone the same. It’s time we paid attention to individual wants and needs.

Yield – Too bad my boss always needed to be right!

Zenith – One of my best employees gave notice yesterday. Another just seemed to retire on the job. I’m a manager now and I’m reminded that engaging and retaining is an ever-lasting responsibility.