Quick Quitting: Just a new buzz word or something employers should be worried about?

Gone are the days when we stay at one job until retirement. And while it hasn’t been unheard of to change jobs every couple of years, a new trend is emerging.

Quick quitting is when employees are leaving their new jobs that they’ve had for less than a year in search of greener pastures. This is in part due to inflation, and the rising costs of groceries and gas, but it can also come down to employee engagement. You should also be sure to not confuse quick quitting with quiet quitting. While quick quitting refers to an employee leaving a role after a short tenure, quiet quitting occurs when an employee quits going above and beyond and only do what is required of them through their job descriptions.

So what are the signs of quick quitting? Read on to learn more.

Signs of quick quitting

Now that you have an idea of what quick quitting is, let’s talk about some warning signs that someone is about to quit. Here is what you can look for:

• Changes in social media: Have their posts gone dark?
• Employee is exhibiting signs of burnout: Ex. Loss of focus, pessimism, irritability
• Employee is getting paid much less than they wanted
• Employee is lacking enthusiasm and are disengaging from their peers

What can employers do?

While employers can’t control outside factors such as rising costs, there are things you can do to proactively prevent employees from quick quitting. One thing you can do as supervisors, is maintain one-on-one weekly meetings and check in with your team individually. Try asking the following questions:

1. How are you feeling about work?
2. What do you like best about your role?
3. Is there something in your role that isn’t your favourite?

As employers, it’s not only important to ask these questions, but to be ready for the responses. Be prepared to accept the answers without a negative reaction. You want to make your team feel valued and create a safe space to communicate. Yes, that employee was hired for a specific role but sometimes you need to get creative. How can you help? Can they do more of what they like and less of what they don’t? Maybe another team member actually prefers to do what they don’t, could be an easy solution!

And don’t forget to give praise. Words of affirmation is a wonderful intrinsic benefit. I’m not talking about the blanket, “Good job, team!” comments I mean the “Wow Dawn, you clearly spent a lot of time and effort on the project with client XYZ, great job!” This action adds to the overall culture of an organization and can have a huge impact on employees.

Knowing the signs and doing your best to avoid the “quick quitters” in your organization is an employer’s best chance at saving a lot of time and money.

As always, Legacy Bowes is here to help.