Quick QUITTING

By Nikki LaFleche

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 new jobs 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 does what is required of them through their job description.

Signs of Quick Quitting

Now that you know what quick quitting is, let’s talk about some of the warning signs exhibited by someone who is about to quit. Here is what you can look for:

Employee’s social media has changed: 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 is 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.

is a CPHR HR Consultant with Legacy Bowes, and has over a decade of human resources experience in Indigenous Child Welfare where she created and continually improved the HR Department. LaFleche has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with a minor in Business, from the University of Manitoba in 2012, and received her post-graduate certificate in Human Resources Management (hons) in 2015. LaFleche has been a Chartered Professional in Human Resources since 2018 and is passionate about developing positive, inclusive and effective work environments where others can flourish. LaFleche finds it rewarding to support organizations in creating ethical and engaging workplaces where employees feel connected, inspired and empowered.

Try Asking the Following Questions:

How are you feeling about work? What do you like best about your role? 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, which could be an easy solution.

And don’t forget to give praise. Words of affirmation are a wonderful intrinsic benefit. I’m not talking about the blanket “Good job, team!” comments. I mean the “Wow, 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 are an employer’s best chance at saving a lot of time and money from employee turnover.

“Quick Quitting: Just a New Buzzword or Something Employers should be Worried About?” was first published as a blog post on legacybowes.com and has been printed with permission by the author.