• FREE RESOURCES
        • Creating a Legally Sound Remote Work Policy: The 5 Biggest Pitfalls to Avoid
          Creating a Legally Sound Remote Work Policy: The 5 Biggest Pitfalls to Avoid
          Employment Law
          FMLA Cheat Sheet: A Handy At-A-Glance Guide
          HR Career & Self-Care
          Lead Magnet: 110 Traits of Highly Effective HR Pros
          11 Traits of Highly Effective HR Pros
          Recruiting
          New Employee Checklist
          Recruiting
          How to Write a Job Description Worksheet
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR

  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

HR Morning

  • FREE RESOURCES
        • Creating a Legally Sound Remote Work Policy: The 5 Biggest Pitfalls to Avoid
          Creating a Legally Sound Remote Work Policy: The 5 Biggest Pitfalls to Avoid
          Employment Law
          FMLA Cheat Sheet: A Handy At-A-Glance Guide
          HR Career & Self-Care
          Lead Magnet: 110 Traits of Highly Effective HR Pros
          11 Traits of Highly Effective HR Pros
          Recruiting
          New Employee Checklist
          Recruiting
          How to Write a Job Description Worksheet
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • More
    • Leadership & Strategy
    • Compensation
    • Staff Administration
    • Policy & Procedures
    • Wellness
    • Staff Departure
    • Employee Services
    • Work Location
    • HR Career & Self-Care
    • Health Care
    • Retirement Plans

Top 3 reasons employees quit their jobs (and other deal breakers)

Christian Schappel
by Christian Schappel
July 18, 2014
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

Guess what, compensation isn’t the biggest reason employees leave their jobs. It kind of makes sense. After all, they knew what they’d be paid when they signed on. So what takes the top spot? 
The No. 1 reason employees say they left a previous job is: a lack of opportunities for advancement.
More than one in five employees (22%) polled by BambooHR, an HR software-as-a-service company, in a recent survey cited that as a reason for resigning in the past.
Coming in second and third, respectively:

  • A lack of work-life balance.
  • Money.

BambooHR polled 1,034 U.S. workers over the age of 18 to find out why they’d left a previous job, and to have them rate the most annoying aspects of work in general.

The biggest deal breakers

Employees could rank work traits on the following scale:

  • 1 = acceptable
  • 2 = somewhat acceptable
  • 3 = annoying
  • 4 = considerably annoying
  • 5 = deal breaker

Deal breakers are aspects of a job that would make employees head for the exits.
The top five deal breakers identified in the survey:

  1. The boss doesn’t trust or empower you (one in four rated this a deal breaker).
  2. Being expected to work or answer emails on sick days, vacations and/or after work (one in four).
  3. Management that “passes the buck” when things don’t go as planned (one in five).
  4. Work not being flexible with regard to family responsibilities (one in five).
  5. Not getting along with co-workers (1 in 6).

(Note: Being expected to work or answer emails while out of the office was a somewhat polarizing aspect of work, with more than one in six respondents ranking it as acceptable.)

Annoyances but not quite deal breakers

Here are employees’ four biggest annoyances that don’t quite make it to the level of deal breaker:

  1. Management being less aware of the industry than you or your team are.
  2. A lack of recognition for a job well done.
  3. Co-workers being promoted faster than you.
  4. Subpar benefits.

For more results of the study, refer to the following inforgraphic, which was provided courtesy of BambooHR:
Workplace Deal Breakers_v3
Source: BambooHR

Fill Open Positions Fasters

Get the latest from HRMorning in your inbox PLUS immediately access 10 FREE HR guides.

I WANT MY FREE GUIDES

Keep Up To Date with the Latest HR News

With HRMorning arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on labor laws, benefits, retention and onboarding strategies.

Sign up for a free HRMorning membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
HR Morning Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • ABOUT HRMORNING
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • Leadership & Strategy
  • Compensation
  • Staff Administration
  • Policy & Procedures
  • Wellness
  • Staff Departure
  • Employee Services
  • Work Location
  • HR Career & Self-Care
  • Health Care
  • Retirement Plans

HRMorning, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest HR and employment law news for HR professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, HRMorning delivers actionable insights, helping HR execs understand what HR trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2022 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

Why do we need your credit card for a free trial?

We ask for your credit card to allow your subscription to continue should you decide to keep your membership beyond the free trial period.  This prevents any interruption of content access.

Your card will not be charged at any point during your 21 day free trial
and you may cancel at any time during your free trial.

preloader