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Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

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Re: Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

#33

My old boss Eric Carlsen used to say, nobody left because of money. They may get more money if they change jobs. But they start looking because they're unhappy. So when somebody asked for more money, he'd start by asking what was bothering them.

~Nobody left because of money so long as the money’s reasonably close. This environment has made it so the money is often not close.

This. It's a different game right now. As an employer it's very hard to take everyone's salary up 20% because that's what they might get elsewhere. So you don't. So people leave. But this won't last forever.

Re: Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

#34
Today was my last day.

I moved to the UK for a pretty awesome job. These last few years have led me to re-evaluate my priorities, and I'm moving back home to be closer to family and old friends.

Many of my international colleagues (especially European) have made similar decisions.

Re: Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

#35
post #15
post #5

There are two questions at the core of this: "What made you look" and "What made you leave". They can have the same answers but this isn't a great poll IMO.

https://randsinrepose.com/archives/shields-down/ is a classic article (and an incredibly important read for anyone in engineering management) that essentially argues that these two questions are fundamentally equivalent.

Jesus, I just looked at this article's bullet points for the factors that we evaluate in an instant when considering leaving a job. And where I failed every line. :\

I knew that I was looking for something else but I hadn't consciously realized it had gotten that bad.

    Am I happy with my job?
    Do I like my manager? My team?
    Is this project I’m working on fulfilling?
    Am I learning?
    Am I respected?
    Am I growing?
    Do I feel fairly compensated?
    Is this company/team going anywhere?
    Do I believe in the vision?
    Do I trust the leaders?

Re: Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

#36
post #27

My old boss Eric Carlsen used to say, nobody left because of money. They may get more money if they change jobs. But they start looking because they're unhappy. So when somebody asked for more money, he'd start by asking what was bothering them.

That might have been true in the old days when competitors paid 10, 20, 30% more. Now some tech companies are paying like 2x, 3x, 4x regular dev wages and its a reason to dedicate your life to this.

Also, for folks who are renting. With the cost of housing going through the roof this is also a driving factor that makes people reassess location/job and if they want to be renting the rest of their lives. Cheaper location and 30% more can go a long way.

Re: Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

#39

My old boss Eric Carlsen used to say, nobody left because of money. They may get more money if they change jobs. But they start looking because they're unhappy. So when somebody asked for more money, he'd start by asking what was bothering them.

I think the old generation really bought into this, but the new generation knows it's a load of bull.

The poll makes it pretty obvious that compensation is the biggest reason folks leave, and it's the thinking of the old generation who doesn't know how to retain talent (they do, but they keep throwing pizza parties / sending out merch instead). It's a real "it can't be helped" mentality around retention.

Re: Poll: Why are people leaving their jobs?

#40
post #15
post #5

There are two questions at the core of this: "What made you look" and "What made you leave". They can have the same answers but this isn't a great poll IMO.

https://randsinrepose.com/archives/shields-down/ is a classic article (and an incredibly important read for anyone in engineering management) that essentially argues that these two questions are fundamentally equivalent.

If your "shields" went down because you had a negative workplace experience, but then you found out that you could double your salary once you started looking, I think it's totally fair to consider both the toxic culture and the compensation your "why" factors.

It's easy to use something like compensation or new challenges as a post-hoc rationalization for making a move too, even when the real reason you started looking is perhaps different and requires some introspection. As an example, you might not start looking because you want more money, but it's fairly socially acceptable to say "I left because I was made an offer I can't refuse" as a justification when you do actually leave.

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