Why employees leave and the signs before they go
A resignation is the end of a decision, not the start. By the time it lands, the person has usually been thinking about it for a while. The signs were there earlier, but they were small and spread over weeks.
Updated
The changes you can see
None of these means someone is leaving. Each one is a reason to ask how they are.
- They speak up less in meetings and team channels.
- They stop taking on new or long-term work.
- They stop giving feedback on other people's work.
- Their working hours change, or they take odd single days off.
- They stop talking about what they want to do next.
- Someone they worked closely with has left.
Why managers miss them
Each change is small, and each one has an innocent explanation. A quiet week is just a quiet week. You only see the pattern when you put several weeks side by side.
Managers also give most of their time to the people who ask for it. The person thinking of leaving is often the one who stopped asking.
What to say
Do not ask "Are you looking for another job?" Few people answer that honestly. Ask about their work instead.
- "How are things going for you lately?"
- "What would you change about your work if you could?"
- "What do you want to be doing a year from now?"
- "What could I do more of, or less of?"
What to do next
If they name a problem you can fix, fix one thing this week and tell them. A small change made quickly says more than a big promise.
If they have already decided to go, thank them, and ask what would have changed their mind. The answer helps the next person.
The signals behind this guide
- When an employee goes quiet: what to look for
Someone is much quieter than usual.
- Are you giving one person less of your time?
One person gets much less of your time than the others.
- How to tell if someone could take on more work
Someone has had much less of their own work than usual, and could take on more.
More guides
- Quiet quitting: the signs, and what to do
What quiet quitting looks like on a team, how it differs from a quiet week, and how a manager can respond without blame.
- One on one questions to ask your team
One on one questions for every part of a 1:1 meeting: workload, the team, growth and you as their manager. Plus what to talk about, and a simple agenda.
- Employee recognition: how to thank good work
Employee recognition that costs nothing: how to notice the work that deserves thanks, how to say it so it lands, and ideas to make sure nobody is missed.
- Signs of burnout at work a manager can see
The signs of burnout at work a manager can see early are about the work: late nights, no breaks, no say. What to look for, what to say, what to change.
- Signs an employee is secretly struggling
The work changes that show someone may be struggling, why they hide it, and how a manager can ask in a way that gets an honest answer.
- How to tell if an employee is disengaged
What disengaged looks like day to day, how it differs from a bad week, and how a manager can find the reason and respond without blame.
- Bus factor: how to find it and raise it
Your bus factor is how many people could leave before work stops. How to find the one person your team relies on, and how to spread what they know.
- How to support an employee returning from leave
What to do before, on and after someone's first day back from leave, so they can catch up without being rushed or left out.
- Overwhelmed at work: how a manager can help
What to do when someone has too much on: how to find out what they are carrying, what to take away, and how to check that it worked.
- Employee onboarding: a 90-day plan
A practical plan for a new hire's first days and first 90 days: what to prepare, who they should meet, and what to check on each week.
- Performance review examples for managers
Performance review examples you can adapt for results, teamwork, growth and problems, a short template, and how to write a fair review from facts.
- Employee retention: how to keep your best people
What employee retention depends on, why good people leave, and the habits that keep them: fair workload, real growth and a manager who notices.
- Team health check: how to run one
How to run a team health check in half an hour: what to ask, how to get honest answers, what to do with the result, and what to watch between checks.
- First time manager: what to do first
A plan for a first time manager: meet each person, learn how the team works, start one on ones, and avoid the mistakes most new managers make.
Ready when you are
A quieter morning, starting in your inbox.
Connect the tools your team already uses. Sonarwork reads the past of the ones that keep one, so there is something to look at on day one. Then every weekday morning, the brief lands.
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