“For days, indeed weeks, this decision weighed on me; I wrestled with the pros and cons, the issues and counterbalancing arguments and, after a lot of reflection, I am resigning.”

Some resignations are expected, others come as a surprise; but why do employees really leave? There are countless reasons; and these differ for every individual. Because of this, they can be difficult for leaders to address. Employee retention is mainly in the domain of company leaders, and the majority of employees quit their jobs for reasons within their leaders’ control.

It is tough to hold on to good employees, but it shouldn’t be. Most mistakes companies make can be easily avoided. When mistakes are made, your best employees are the first to go, because they are good and have the most options available.

So what is exactly driving good employees to seek fortunes elsewhere? A desire to switch careers, big life changes or maybe a cannot-miss opportunity. For many people, quitting has everything to do with the job itself. From salary concerns to bad leadership, I will be going through what I think the main reasons why employees leave are.

British philosopher Alan Watts often asked: “What if money was no object?” Watts would try to encourage people to ignore the trappings of money and instead follow their hearts and passions as if money was indeed no object. But in reality stagnant wages are the number one reason people quit their jobs.

In reality all that matters is having a great company culture

People often start looking at revamping and dusting their CV when minimal or non-existing wage increases would come their way. With the sense of receiving also come rewards and benefits; no one would want to work long hours without being recognised or compensated well. When an organisation has no reward and recognition structure in place, loyalty is significantly reduced.

It is important to celebrate success and be there for your employees. People who feel appreciated and recognised become more productive. However, money matters, money talks, it pays the bills and everyone has to think of their personal financial situation. I am a true believer that if employees are truly committed to what they are doing, give their all, then money will come, so sometimes patience is really a virtue.

In most research one would find bad management as one of the top reasons causing employees to leave. Many organisations make the mistake of promoting the wrong people to managerial positions; sometimes employees are promoted irrespective of their skill level; this is a big mistake, as management is a leadership role and therefore requires leadership skills as well as technical skills.

In most cases, internal promotions within growing companies happen out of necessity; normally the person with the greatest technical skills is promoted without having the right leadership skills or given the time and/or the right training to acquire them. Lacking the capability of coaching and giving feedback defeats the purpose of having a manager; the least a boss should do is guide and set expectations, as a lack of them can leave employees frustrated and make them want to leave.

Tolerating poor performance is another reason why employees leave. It frustrates those working hard. As the saying goes, the team is only as good as the worst player and, no matter how great some employees are, everyone notices the worst player. If weak links are permitted to exist without consequences, top and loyal employees will feel that anything goes and their attitude and good performance will die – until they feel they need a new challenge and leave.

So what could be the game changer? Nowadays people are interested in having private medical services, gym memberships, free lunches and being allowed to take their pet to work, but in reality all that matters is having a great company culture. This will surely beat any good benefit. Some people tend to go for job security rather than cool benefits and an amazing office environment. On the other hand, others see salary as their main motivation.

Bringing it all together, managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the real reasons. In reality, people don’t leave jobs, they leave mangers, the work environment and bad vibes.

If employees do not trust management to lead them in the right direction, they lose respect and will eventually leave. If you want happy employees, I urge you to recognise their work and invest in them. They could still leave for any number of reasons, but if you are not investing in them, they will most certainly leave for sure. Yes, the reasons for leaving a job can vary wildly, but sometimes the reason is very simple.

This article only reflects the author’s personal opinion and not that of his employer.