"I QUIT!"

There are a number of reasons why employees leave their jobs — they’re bored and unchallenged, they don't get recognition for their work, they have a strained relationship with their boss, they have to frequently work overtime, etc. All of these relate to one single problem: Their time isn’t respected.

Day off communication

Avoid sending emails to your employees on their day off. When your mind is always on work, you're unable to recharge and think creatively. As an employer, try to limit communication to only urgent and important matters when your team is on their own time.

Recognition of work

"Great job!" That's all it takes. Sixty-nine percent of employees are willing to work harder for a company that recognizes their accomplishments. Managers may forget to celebrate and only communicate when performance is low. For people to advance in their careers, they need to improve. That’s difficult if you are not being recognized for the work you've already done. Constructive criticism also falls into this category. It shows that you value a person’s time and efforts if you give them tips on how to improve.

Autonomy and independence

Micromanagement is an easy trap to fall into. This is inefficient for both parties and does not build a relationship based on trust and respect. Giving your employees autonomy to do their work is key to getting more things done and unifying a team. Once employees are properly trained and are clear on correct avenues of communication to management, they should be able to be left alone to do their jobs.

Early Monday meetings

Starting the work-week with an early meeting is rough. No one is chipper at 8:00 a.m. on a Monday. Families are forced to balance getting kids to school on time, and those who don't would rather not start planning their work-week early Sunday evening. If you want to start the week off "right," have that meeting later in the day, once everyone has had a chance to get going and become focused.

Long hours and weekends

Working long hours has a cumulative effect on employees and their families. Feeling like you are "never home" causes you to resent your job plus experience pressure from your family that you’re not at home. Really good companies that think long-term know that their employees have lives and communities outside of the office. It should be a person's choice to work longer hours at night or on weekends.

Bored and unchallenged

Career development is a benefit and one of the main reasons people choose one job over another. If you're lucky enough to have employees who have chosen to work for you, be sure to have ways for them to grow within your organization. Growth doesn’t have to be vertical. Come up with meaningful projects that don’t necessarily lead to advancement. Most importantly, they feel like they’re work is important.

Optional happy hours

Company “optional” happy hours on Fridays at 5:00 p.m. are a bad idea. The whole office pressures one another to go, and turnout ends up being pretty good, but this peer pressure and ritual ends up creating exclusion rather than inclusion. Let your employees start their weekends at home with family and friends. If you choose to offer outside social events, make them truly optional, much less frequent, and schedule well ahead of time.

Being late

Nothing says “my time is more important than yours” than being late. It's an offense that over time degrades respect and reliability between coworkers. Communication about delays plays a key role.

The best way to prevent people from feeling like they want to be somewhere else is to respect their time. Create an environment where the company, managers, and employees respect each other's time, and you'll build a company culture that's sustainable for everyone.

Source: Dane Hurtubise, Parklet.co