The Invisible Employee: Using Carrots to See the Hidden Potential in Everyone, Second Edition

2.1. BLINK OUTS

2.1.1. Why Workers Leave

What if we told you that one thing was to blame 79 percent of the time when people leave? Would you do something about it? Well, according to the Society^[] for Human Resource Management, 79 percent of people who leave their jobs do so because of a lack of recognition or appreciation.

Now, in an economy with high unemployment, that might not be very worrisome to some leaders—but it should be. They need to understand the type of employees who leave during a recession. Almost always they are the best performers, those people who have options, those who are vital to surviving and thriving during a downturn.

Not surprisingly, Prudential Financial^[] came up with similar results when they sponsored a companywide project aimed at collecting information from current and former employees, as well as future candidates. "Not feeling valued and appreciated for the job they did" was one of the top reasons former employees gave for leaving the company.

In a day and age where workers are asked to do more with less, they are rebelling. Not by holding up picket signs outside your factory gate. But by grumbling, finding ways to cut corners and, eventually, blinking out.

What's love got to do with work? A lot, it appears, when it comes to employee satisfaction.

People don't leave for money.

They often leave supervisors.

While most managers we've interviewed seem to be convinced it's the twice-monthly paycheck that buys them the commitment of their people, ...