Lack of honesty, integrity, ethics also make workers want to leave
Insufficient pay or unfair pay practices is the top reason why employees choose to leave their employers, according to a survey by David Aplin Group.
When asked to recall a former employer whom they had chosen to leave of their own accord, the top five answers (in order) given by the more than 1,800 respondents were:
• insufficient pay or unfair pay practices
• lack of honesty/integrity/ethics
• lack of trust in senior leaders
• lack of work-life balance
• unhealthy/undesirable culture.
One-half (49 per cent) of managers and HR professionals indicated voluntary turnover is a problem at their organizations but the factors they considered to be the greatest contributors to voluntary employee turnover at their organizations were (in order):
• insufficient pay or unfair pay practices
• unmet personal goals and dreams
• excessive workload
• unexpected job/career opportunity
• lack of feedback or recognition.
One-half of employees also indicated the thought of leaving their employer caused them to give less effort to their job.
“Employee turnover affects your bottom line,” said Jeff Aplin, president of David Aplin Group. “What’s more is the cost of replacing an employee is estimated to be between 75 per cent and 200 per cent of the employee’s annual compensation.”
Though insufficient pay or unfair pay practices is listed as the top factor causing employees to think seriously about leaving their organization, 61 per cent of them also indicated they would trade financial or base compensation for extra vacation days or a shorter work week.
Only 52 per cent indicated that a higher salary or pay raise would increase their tolerance for the undesirable aspects of their job, found the survey.
More than one-third (38 per cent) of respondents revealed they were motivated more by their dissatisfaction or desire to leave than by the attraction or availability of an outside opportunity. In contrast, 47 per cent of managers and HR professionals indicated departing employees were motivated more by the attraction of an outside opportunity than by their dissatisfaction or desire to leave.
“From Vancouver to Halifax, we are seeing a return to the almighty dollar as the top driver of why people quit jobs in Canada. This is a shift from the softer influences on turnover such as life balance that we’ve seen previously. After a few years of sluggish growth, people are more motivated than ever to get ahead economically,” said Aplin. “The implications for Canadian society deserve a closer look or managers will continue to ignore these results at their own peril.”
