Why People Quit Their Jobs

Money Magazine lists the main reasons people quit their jobs as follows (with the percentage of people who gave this reason):

• Because they didn’t have room to grow (45%)
• Poor leadership (41%)
• Wanting better work culture (36%)
• Wanting more challenging work (36%)
• Wanted better pay (34%)
• Wanted better recognition at work (32%)

I've left jobs for all of these reasons throughout the course of my career but "poor leadership" is probably the reason I moved on most. No matter how great the company is, the people are, the mission is, and all the rest, if the leadership stinks then work life is a disaster.

I'm not sure leaving for better pay was ever the main reason I moved companies, but it was always part of the equation. I never wanted to go backwards and did want to gain a good amount with every move, something I was able to do most of the time.

How about you? Have you ever left a job for any of the reasons noted above?

Comments

[Sheila]

I left my last job for reasons 1-4 (LOL) and am now considering leaving my current job due to a salary imbalance where I have the same job description as another employee but more duties and significantly less pay.

[DIY$]

I left my last company for reason #1 and pivoted to a new industry/function but actually took a short-term pay cut (much higher salary but lower variable comp).

My last position I left for reasons #2/3 but stayed with the same company. It's interesting how different work life can be within the same company but between different departments.

[Full Time Finance]

The biggest driver for me has always been poor leadership. There is a saying, which I very much find true, people don't leave companies they leave managers. The other items on the list I believe are symptoms of the first. Management ultimately sets the tone for the other items.

[MoneySheep]

There are two quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. that could become the mantra for workers who quit because they see something on their job they can’t stomach.

King said:
— “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
— “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

But I think King meant human rights towards workers, not because you don't like the behavior of your boss.