I'm noticing a lot of people quit right now at my company.

41 Comments

1. AnonymousJanuary 27,2022 at 1:40PM UTC

   Google The Great RESIGNATION. this is going on in every company.

   The job market is hot right now, offering more/better compensation, flexible schedules and working from home options. People are leaving their current jobs for much better opportunities that support their lives and wellness. People want to be happy and live more comfortably.

   It's not just your company....its everywhere.

2. AnonymousJanuary 27,2022 at 1:43PM UTC

   Where have you been???? It's the Great Resignation. This has been going on for months. The companies that aren't changing and offering employees better pay and flexibility are losing employees by the boatload.

3. LaurenJanuary 27,2022 at 2:14PM UTC

   Sounds like you may be new to the company. ASK ASK ASK your fellow colleagues or some that have left. Why did you decide to leave? Is there a reason people are leaving the company that I’m not aware of?

4. Heather MaconeJanuary 27,2022 at 3:15PM UTC

   This is a great, helpful and productive response to the poster. Completely agree with this next step!

5. AnonymousJanuary 27,2022 at 2:24PM UTC

   I would definitely follow Lauren's advice and ask if you can.

   There could be some major red flags you might want to consider but it could also be that they weren't the right fit for that company. Yes, there is the Great Resignation going on because people realized how the could be treated and should be but that is not the case for every person leaving. It is better to ask and double check to know whether it is a universal red flag or a personal red flag.

6. AnonymousJanuary 27,2022 at 2:25PM UTC

   A lot of people have left my company - in part because of the 'great resignation' and in part because of new leadership that has come with some forensic accounting that uncovered a slew of unethical business practices that have people questioning the company and their willingness to be a associated with what's happened.

   I think every company is different and everyone's reasons for moving on are different.

7. AnonymousJanuary 27,2022 at 3:36PM UTC

   If you're happy in your job and there aren't any outward signs that the company is going under then maybe just wait and see. If you're questioning then perhaps you're sensing something is amiss. It's never a bad time to dust off your resume and see what's out there.

8. Kim CallinanJanuary 29,2022 at 2:01AM UTC

   If you're happy, don't let other people's negativity or unhappiness influence you. If somebody has left a job you are interested in, use this as an opportunity to transition to a new role.

9. Amy GeffenJanuary 29,2022 at 1:22PM UTC

   Agree with what has been said about asking a trusted colleague or HR is there any openings. People leave for all sorts of reasons. If you had a relationsihp with some of the people who left you can ask them directly. If you are happy andsatisfied with the work and the people, no reason for you to look elsewhere.

10. Megan BloomJanuary 29,2022 at 1:34PM UTC

    Watch and listen.
    And maybe take one of those ex-coworkers out to lunch on a weekend. There IS something going on, even if it's just the company's failure to hold people's attention at a time when a lot of us value stability above all (the other side of the Great Resignation - nobody without a trust fund wants to quit during a global pandemic unless they are really REALLY unhappy at work).

11. AlexisJanuary 29,2022 at 1:37PM UTC

    Perhaps the people leaving have been with the company for a number of years and are ready to transition to a new company or have changed to a different career altogether! There may be something in common with the reason why people are leaving... but there may not! If you have a relationship with any of the people who have left and there is a mutual comfort to discuss, feel comfortable to ask them why they left them and can explore their reasoning.

12. Michelle SiskoJanuary 29,2022 at 1:37PM UTC

    At my company they are making us go back into the office. After almost 2 years of working from home, and doing our jobs with no major problems, they don’t see why we need to go back. Most have left for positions that are fully remote.

13. AnonymousJanuary 31,2022 at 9:57PM UTC

    Same with another company I know well.
    Old school CEO just want to see the little pawns scramble in to their desks after a daycare dropoff. If you were (i kid you not!) ONE minute late not just in the door but seated and logged on, you were written up. And this is a huge well known company. Petty power mongers just want to have everyone where they can see them. I hope those types of bosses find their company going downhill due to their petty power plays on peoples' lives. Oh, and just for yucks check out another company review on GlassDoor for USLI...where the reviewer mentions that making people come back to the office when they have successfully done their job remotely will be the company's downfall.

14. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 1:49PM UTC

    There's no way to ask why without it being nosy. However, you might ask, how will this affect our day to day, what can I do to help, and should there be an opportunity for me to stretch and grow, I would like to be considered.

15. GirlBossanova934974January 29,2022 at 1:54PM UTC

    It really depends on the positions and tenure of the departed employees. Are employees leaving who have many years of experience with the company or are they newcomers? Are senior managers leaving or are the departures concentrated in the entry level? I would be concerned if the departures were at the senior level and/or concentrated at the most experienced. They can wreck an organization. The rest may just be the usual resignations which usually hit early in the year aka right after the Christmas holidays. Last note is that PAY is becoming more and more of an issue. A few dollars more per hour being paid by other local companies can move the entry level right out the door..........

16. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 2:19PM UTC

    As someone who was apart of a large media company that "merged" a few years ago this is a HUGE red flag for me.

    A year before the purchase took place several top executives and top upper management sporadically resigned, all with various reasons. Then we started to notice that we weren't getting supplies as fast as we should (precovid). Afterwards we were given goals that were unattainable.

    Looking back on this its fairly obvious that something was going on; but sometimes you are unknowingly in the eye of the hurricane. I would recommend LOOKING at what is going on around you and see what is changing. What do the people quit have in common? Does the new jobs come with a better job titles? More elite company? (Thanks LinkedIn).

    Hopefully its just coworkers that were able to get better opportunities, but it never hurts to investigate. I wish all the best of luck to you.

17. rgstaffing@bellsouth.netJanuary 29,2022 at 2:20PM UTC

    Most people form office friendships where they are working. Why don't you ask a couple of your friends who are leaving why they are leaving? Many reasons right now--more money, the opportunity to work remote etc. Lots of jobs available...

18. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 2:24PM UTC

    I work for a health care facility but I am not a direct frontline worker.
    During 2021 and 2022 lots of people within the facility have left and this includes both doctors and other administrators etc.

    I think what is happening with my place of employment : few opportunities to move up the ladder, pushy boss and managers, no raise, our vacation incentives changed, and there’s no motivation or any other incentive from upper management.

    I myself do not see any further growth opportunities within the position I am at now. I am already exploring opportunities and for me having a good working environment is important and a supportive manager. I am also focused on getting paid a bit more. The facility I work for now, doesn’t even allow to negotiate pay unless there’s a very good reason. This all has to do with the company culture and retention plus incentives and pay.

19. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 5:03PM UTC

    Also working in healthcare (non clinical) and experiencing similar).

20. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 2:30PM UTC

    A suggestion was given to find a trusted colleague and to have the conversation away from prying eyes, lunch invite, offsite or behind closed doors. Pay attention to the changes, look at who’s leaving whether a newbie, long-tenured or high level leader. I’d say part of the Great Resignation may be attributed to improving quality of life. Job stressors are taking a back seat, individuals are more apt to living their best life. Do your best to not let the people changes affect you.

21. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 2:35PM UTC

    You cant stop people from gossiping, but you can choose not to participate in it

22. Diana SchneidmanJanuary 29,2022 at 2:53PM UTC

    Developing personal relationships with coworkers and past coworkers is not gossiping, it's an important part of developing a career. Being in the loop is a good thing, nothing nefarious about it. Work-from-home eliminates non-group interaction and keeps people in the dark about what is going on. Long term, it means missing out on what is going on in the company and in the industry behind the scenes.

23. Kat KarpinskiJanuary 29,2022 at 5:20PM UTC

    I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "Work-from-home eliminates non-group interaction and keeps people in the dark about what is going on...missing out on what's going on" It is an interesting perspective. Can you elaborate? I'm serious, I want to understand what you mean by this because I'm not sure I do :)

24. Diana SchneidmanJanuary 29,2022 at 9:33PM UTC

    Work-from-home of course features group Zoom or equivalent with no confidentiality. And there is one on one with your manager or perhaps coworkers on a project. But casual interaction such as the type that used to take place in the cafeteria, hallways and such is rarer.

    What the original poster considers to be "gossip" is a necessary part of integrating yourself into the under-the-radar world.

    I used to work in-office at very large companies. At one, when a reorg was happening, at mid-morning we were all told to be back from lunch at 1 because a major announcement was coming. Work would immediately come to a halt and we would gather to speculate as to what was coming. Not to participate marked you as clueless, not as more moral.

    At another company, a coworker would engage in long conversations with his network at branch and affiliate offices--often over the weekend--that helped him get promoted to positions he wasn't especially qualified for.

    If you are a paper (or e-file) processor, yes, you can get a lot done at home. If your job is to know who the smartest or best connected people are in order to achieve bigger results, you have to connect with them. That's how I see it.

25. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 2:54PM UTC

    I'd say in my case it was a toxic workplace that made me change and quit to find something that was more signed with my values.

26. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 3:11PM UTC

    The great resignation has created many vacant positions at former employer.

    As a result the work from the open position were being distributed amongst the team. To date, the leadership teams has not formulated a plan to mitigate the hostile employment market such as work life balance, compensation, diversity and inclusion, etc.

    Advice: I kept my head down and did not pay attention, I resigned for better working hours and pay but realized I was not in the best mental space to start 3 days later on new employer due to toxic workplace experience. I'm still working to purge old employer. Recommendation take time to step away and ask if your employer is pouring into you the same if not more value you are giving them. Do they deserve you and if yes, how do they show it?

27. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 3:14PM UTC

    Google “the great resignation”.
    People are leaving because they don’t want to return to the office because of pandemic/vaccine concerns or because they moved during the pandemic. People are being forced to retire or leave to make room for millennials to join and grow and gen xers to take leadership positions. People are leaving because they were burnt out during the pandemic with being forced to work longer at work (since they couldn’t give FaceTime) while simultaneously supporting their kids and parents more (who were not going to school physically or got covid and needed care). On top of all this, perhaps your company had workplace issues.

28. AnonymousJanuary 29,2022 at 4:11PM UTC

    You have heard of “The Great Resignation” right?
    People are leaving for new or better opportunities, working for themselves (hobby turned business), venturing into uncharted territories by switching careers. It’s an employee market.

    Employees have also recognized their own value. What we once “accepted” is a possible deal breaker. For example, the likelihood of me working IN an office is extremely thin. This unfortunate pandemic has yielded a myriad of results. The country (only now) sees the value, need, and dependency we have in the hospitality industry.

    Workers aren’t settling and good for them! When I was a senior (1989) my work study job paid me $12.50! So why is minimum wage still so low any why are politicians keen on keeping it that way—at our expense mind you. Too bad us “lowly” citizens don’t have a treasure chest of money to help us lobby the politicians to work on our behalf and for our benefit like big businesses.

    No, the economy won’t suffer nor will businesses go out of business if they pay workers a livable wage. It’s NO reason people should have tens of thousands of dollars of debt from student loans and the same emphasis some have on obtaining a college degree is the same emphasis we should have for trade schools. Imagine going to trade school, learning your skill, crafting your skill, and ultimately becoming your own boss?

    I have yet to mention toxic or disorganized work environments. Environments where people don’t matter as much as profits. Businesses have to recognize employees are assets and also we’re customers—internal customers. If they treated employees like their very best customers, the result would truly be amazing.

    Imagine a company known for how well they valued and treated their employees. The employees would be walking billboards, customers would be more inclined to support a business who placed as a high a value on their employees as they did their profits.

    Quite a few people have left the company I’m with for reasons I can only assume and good for them! I’m not sure if exit interviews were conducted and whether a common theme was discovered, but employers could learn a lot by also conducting “stay” interviews and gathering feedback from employees. At least make some kind of effort to learn more, understand why, and make an effort to making changes.

    I’m not sure what industry you’re in, but hopefully there is some type of forum (team meetings, town halls, all-hands meetings, etc.) where this can be addressed. That way it could give you some level of comfort.

    Best wishes to you and to employees everywhere!!

29. worklifebalanceJanuary 29,2022 at 4:27PM UTC

    Before you ask, please make sure that you are prepared for answers that you might not want to hear.

    (Just because it’s human nature. :). )

    Suggestions:

    (1). Have an anonymous survey of the people remaining. Throw out all the usual “metric-gathering” multiple choice questions. You want something that actually encourages people to talk. It should be the following questions:
    (a). What do you like about working here?
    (b). What do you dislike about working here?
    (c). How can we improve?

    (2) Have a meeting, WITHOUT you or any manager present, to ask for feedback. (I assume you’re a manager?). The presence of a manager will stifle discussion. Have a trusted colleague gather feedback.

    (2a). Have a trusted colleague meet with people 1:1 to gather feedback. Again, NOT a manager.

    Meanwhile, here are some common reasons people are leaving. See if any of them apply to your company:

    (1). Are people allowed to work from home right now? If not, there’s your answer. People are leaving for jobs where they can.
    Especially during Covid (yes, the pandemic is still happening!)
    No excuses, please. You probably managed to allow work from home during Covid. So you can do it now.

    (2) How understanding are you towards working parents (especially working moms!) who have their children at home with them because schools and day care centers are closed?
    Do you expect them to work like they don’t have children? If so, there’s your answer.

    (3) Do people feel overworked? Is there never a slow period? If so, there’s your answer.

    And please don’t think you can solve this by putting the burden on the workers to tell you that they’re overworked, and need to set boundaries. Respectfully, that’s deflecting the blame away from management for putting on the pressure in the first place.

    Solve it by putting on less pressure, and giving less work. I promise you that your business will survive if you make a LITTLE bit less money, and your workers are happy.

    And by the way, almost no worker is going to tell you this, because they don’t want to come across as “lazy.”

    Conclusion: Some of these may be tough to hear. But you need to hear them if you want to stop bleeding workers. I’m sure you mean well, so please listen.

    Good luck!

30. Jennifer ZiolkowskiJanuary 29,2022 at 5:21PM UTC

    I'm assuming you're not in HR and are just genuinely curious.

    In that case, I would send them a LinkedIn request with a message along the lines of:

    I heard you recently left XYZ. I hope you don't mind keeping in touch for networking purposes and that you've moved on to bigger and better things!

    This is helpful in a few ways:

    1) if they left on a positive note, (and they respond) they will likely say so

    2) even if they don't respond, so long as they connect, you should be able to see if they are starting a new job right away (i.e. The Great Resignation)

    If everyone leaving is from the same department, you may not have much of a choice but to ask around. Was it a bad manager? Is there the possibility of downsizing and those people were getting ahead of it?

    I was one of 6 people to leave my previous company (of about 30) in the last 2 months of 2021, but that was because of embarrassingly poor management and everyone knew it. Unless you're very new to your job, I suspect you would know of this is the case in your situation.

31. Laura BrowneJanuary 29,2022 at 5:27PM UTC

    Great idea! It's always good to build your network and after they leave, they might be more willing to give you some additional information.

32. Sarah LarsonJanuary 29,2022 at 6:41PM UTC

    All the other responses are awesome, check them out. To add to their suggestions, if it’s noticeable it’s likely pretty bad.

    In that, when people leave it’s contagious. Watching others leave when you’re on the fence or, perhaps like you, when you think everything is fine- causes people to lean into the prospective of leaving. Therefore, it could have been a few culture brokers that left which sent ripples into the organization.

    Regardless of the reason, I’d suggest asking yourself if you’re truly happy at the organization.

33. Bradford McCormickJanuary 29,2022 at 7:13PM UTC

    Every situation is different. When it used to be a matter of lifetime employment, like the loyalty that existed in the "Watson" years between International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and its employees. A good company that was good for all, then, was paramount. IBM employees used to sing "The Songs of IBM" from their IBM Song Books.

    But in a world of "at will" employment and no pensions, I have found: Sometimes you can have a pretty good job in a company where most people arer not happy. Conversely, it can be a "great place to work" but your particuar job is not making you happy. When rats are leaving a sinking ship, that's an obvious sign. But maybe you work for the salvage company.

34. Rosa GoesJanuary 29,2022 at 7:26PM UTC

    I would bring it up to your boss. You can say something like 'I noticed employees have been resigning. Should I be concerned?' Being concerned is normal when situations like this happen so you have every right to ask.

35. Julie Chatman, MBA, CISMJanuary 29,2022 at 7:51PM UTC

    This suggestion could be risky.

36. Ellen Smith FaganJanuary 30,2022 at 9:59PM UTC

    going to the boss without all the checking and online search first COULD indeed be tricky. IF they are quitting the boss MIGHT be on tenterhooks and let you join the ranks of former employees.......not cool.

37. Julie Chatman, MBA, CISMJanuary 29,2022 at 7:50PM UTC

    Research the news on your company and in your company's industry.

    If you have solid relationships with any of the people that recently resigned, have a virtual coffee with a few of them and ask them for their rationale.

    Then combine what you can see I'm the news with what you hear from those folks and you should be able to have a decent picture of what’s happening.

38. Wanda ShawJanuary 30,2022 at 12:30AM UTC

    It just might be what every other company in the current employment climate is experiencing with scores of employees venturing out to start their own businesses or opting out of the job market completely because the economic climate is favorable enough to do so. But, still you probably want to do your own covert sleuthing around to see if the problem really does lie with your company or its culture. The other suggestions were good ones, especially doing the research on your company. Look at industry news, are there any merger talks being held. Just a thought?

39. Ellen Smith FaganJanuary 30,2022 at 1:06AM UTC

    ONE good thing - a thing you should do , anyway, is to go online and enter the company name, and search. Search their story in general, the branch where you work, the Wall Street word on their financial stability, the national and local news about them. Search up the names of your co-workers and bosses there. IF there is nothing of note....just ask your boss - if you can do it correctly, so as not to give the boss the wrong idea. If you trust a co-worker there, you might even ask them first. Respect your observation and stick to it, until the water runs clear.

40. Laura BrowneJanuary 30,2022 at 7:27PM UTC

    Great idea! I recommend that you go to Glassdoor.com to read the newest reviews. You might get some interesting information.

41. Ellen Smith FaganJanuary 30,2022 at 10:01PM UTC

    The reason I mentioned the research is because it is a thing I often did in proper detail AFTER I took the job when I was younger and then felt sooo dumb for failing to research a company to whom my fate would be engaged. We learn...and I love it when I get to warn my daughters from a safe distance, so as not to undermine my confidence in them, or their own self-confidence.