According to Gallup’s latest research, here’s what’s actually driving employees out the door — and why many leaders still don’t see it…
- People Don’t Feel Cared About as Humans
This is the biggest one — and the most ignored. When employees feel invisible, undervalued, or treated like interchangeable parts, disengagement is inevitable. Feeling genuinely cared about by a manager isn’t “soft leadership” – it’s effective leadership. John Maxwell framed this as “be devoted to your people, but expect excellence”. - Weak Management is Eroding Commitment
Many managers were promoted because they were great individual contributors — not because they know how to lead people. The result?
• Poor communication
• Little to no coaching
• Recognition that’s either rare or nonexistent - People are Guessing What Matters
Confusion kills motivation. When people don’t understand what’s expected of them — or how their work connects to something bigger — they stop caring. Purpose doesn’t come from mission statements. It comes from clarity. When you don’t have clarity your workload becomes overwhelming leading to stress. - Personal Growth Has Flatlined
People aren’t just quitting jobs. They’re quitting stagnation. When learning stops, engagement fades. Employees want to grow skills, expand responsibility, and see a future. - Burnout Is Being Treated Like a Badge of Honor
Overwork, constant urgency, unrealistic workloads, and zero flexibility are pushing even high performers to rethink everything. Burnout isn’t a resilience problem. It’s a systems problem. When stress becomes normal our personal productivity and our leadership effectiveness are significantly reduced. If you are working 70+ hours per week, you have probably achieved about as much as if you had worked 55 hours.
Coaching is the answer
When a manager has one meaningful conversation a week with each direct report, employees are four times more likely to be highly engaged, regardless of whether they are a frontline, hybrid or fully remote worker. Gallup research shows these conversations are more meaningful when they focus on goals and priorities, recognition for recent work, collaboration, and using employees’ strengths.
Strategic People Group’s Leader’s Coach course equips managers with the skills and confidence to have regular informal conversations to prioritise and assist with problem solving as well as monthly reviews of progress on development and performance goals using the persons strengths.
