When Colleagues Quit and You Stay Put

How do you feel when a close colleague quits? Does it make you wonder if staying is right for you?

If you’re a Millennial working for an organization with a lot of other young workers, turnover (especially when it seems high and it’s individuals with whom you work closely) can make you feel uneasy. But before you make any sudden moves, check the data.

 

Some level of turnover is healthy

Employee turnover is part of the business world. People get bored, they want more money and they leave. Businesses also work to stay trim, periodically cutting from the bottom, replacing their least productive employees.

Let’s look at some numbers …. Just prior to the Covid pandemic, annual quits rates listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (by industry for 2019) showed a low of 7.3% for federal government jobs and a high of 58.6% for an accommodation and food service job in the leisure and hospitality industry.

Where does your industry stack up? And how was Covid (and now the “great resignation”) affected your workplace?

A couple years ago, a conversation with my then 23-year-old niece revealed her concerns of “being the only one still there.” She had been with her organization for a short 1 1/2 years and has slowly watched newly found work friends jump ship for better pay and “more interesting” jobs. She had been successful there, being named employee of the year early on, but struggling to stay put, admitting that the exodus was making her question her own job and the solidness of the company. It also caused her to magnify the flaws she saw in her job and the organization.

Some turnover is normal. The decision to move on should be based on solid evidence and facts and not that feeling of being left behind on a sinking ship.

 

Register now for a new live, virtual seminar: Coping with Workplace Stress.

 

A closer look at the quits data

Generally speaking, quits rates are a sign of worker confidence — their ability to find another job. Exceptionally high quits rates within a specific organization in a normal year could be an indicator of low salaries, a lack of growth opportunities, poor management, or a number of other problems.

Another trend worth noting is worker age: In general, workers tend to stay with a company longer as they get older, according to bls.gov. “Median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 was 10.1 years, three times that of workers ages 25 to 34 years at 2.8 years.”

In 2016, slightly less than half (44%) of Millennials surveyed expect to leave their current employer in the next two years.“Younger workers do tend to change jobs more often than older workers, but that’s always been true as far back as the 1980s. Every month, about 3 percent of young workers (those between 22 and 29) change jobs, compared to about 4 percent in the 1990s,” from fivethirtyeight.com.

 

Make sound career decisions

When a work colleague leaves, it’s normal to feel pressure, especially as the departing colleague talks excitedly about his or her new venture — the “amazing” benefits, the “perfect” boss (justifying, rationalizing, celebrating his or her decision).  This pressure is the reason turnover often happens in waves, suggests getlighthouse.com.

When you feel this pressure, evaluate your situation honestly (remembering that the age of the workers quitting could be a big factor). See the opportunities (more responsibility, advancement) as well as the negatives. Realize the grass is always greener and that every job has negative aspects. Be happy for your colleague. Don’t let inertia keep you from moving on. But also don’t feel compelled to leave simply because others have. Sometimes, if the opportunities are there, staying takes courage.

 

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