Good Reasons for Leaving

Your direct reports are always assessing which other opportunities are out there. When faced with someone telling you that they are going to leave, you can be quick to get angry and think that your employee is giving you another problem to deal with. You can think that they are ungrateful for their position, that they’re just chasing money or prestige, or that they’re taking the easy way out of a hard year at the company. This is rarely the case. People leave for many legitimate reasons that show no malice toward you as their manager. For example:

• New opportunities: Sometimes, there’s no room for an employee to be promoted any higher in your department. So, instead, they’re going to find that role elsewhere or they join a company where that role can be created, such as an early-stage startup in a phase of fast growth. Additionally, they may have worked at your company for a long time and fancy a change in surroundings and the type of work that they’re doing. Maybe an opportunity has come up to work with their best friends. That’s totally natural, and it’s not your fault.