Employee turnover continues to be driven by preventable reasons that highlight the need for organizations to address core areas of employee dissatisfaction.
Reasons related to career pathways remained the leading cause of turnover in 2024, according to Work Institute’s annual analysis of tens of thousands of exit interviews across a range of industries.
After career-related reasons, workers said they left their employer because of personal health and family issues, followed by dissatisfaction with flexible work, management behaviors, and total rewards.
Workers used to expect a linear career path, but that stepladder model doesn’t exist anymore due to the increase in rapidly changing workplace conditions, said SHRM CHRO Jim Link, SHRM-SCP.
“Employers have not done a good enough job selling the value of what it is you will learn in the job,” Link said. “I tell people the pathway is not linear. It’s about experiences. We should be letting employees know what each experience — or role — is and how long we expect them to be in that role. That collection of experiences allows you to do whatever next you want to do, whether it’s inside the organization or outside of it.”
Career Development Is the Top Retention Driver
Career-related reasons such as lack of growth opportunities, inadequate career progression, or insufficient professional development remained the leading cause of turnover, according to Work Institute, a research and consulting firm in Franklin, Tenn.
“This enduring trend highlights employees’ growing focus on roles that meet their immediate professional needs and also align with their long-term aspirations,” Work Institute CEO Danny Nelms said. “Organizations that offer transparent career pathways, growth opportunities, and role alignment are better positioned to retain talent.”
The importance of career and skills development has surged in recent years, according to data from Mercer.
“Employees ask themselves, ‘Can I continue to grow in my current role or do I need to change jobs in order to progress?’ ” said Gord Frost, global rewards solution leader at Mercer, who is based in Montreal. “There’s a particular interest in skills development. If my skills are no longer relevant, I no longer have a job. People are looking for an employer that invests in them to help them develop needed skills to be employable in the future.”
Link said employers must get comfortable letting workers know what experiences they are expected to have at the organization, and the outcomes that are expected from those experiences. “We want you to get this skill and demonstrate it,” he said. “Then get this new skill and demonstrate it, and so on. Then there’s a decision point, and you either stay or go.”
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Employee turnover is often driven by preventable reasons, highlighting the need for organizations to address employee dissatisfaction.