An important task that employers have to deal with is to keep their best employees at their companies. When an employer discovers that one of their best employees is quitting, it may come as a surprise to them. That employer now has to find a new candidate for the newly vacant position, and this can lead to disruption of daily business. However, if you know what to look for with regards to an unhappy employee, you should be able to see telling signs that they are about to leave their job. Below are some of the most common signs that an employee might be about to quit.
Your employee seems disengaged or has a change in behavior.
One of the first things you may notice in your employee is a change in attitude. Someone who may have previously been agreeable or engaged in the company’s day-to- day workings now seems more argumentative and irritable. There may be a lack of enthusiasm for company goals, and the employee might seem distant, no longer providing feedback at meetings or going to lunch with colleagues. You might also notice a significant drop in communication by the employee via email, on the phone, or in person. Spotting this means you should be concerned that the employee could be unhappy.
Your employee keeps odd hours or takes more sick days than usual.
Your employee might be about to leave if you see that they are suddenly taking a lot of sick days or are using up their vacation days. Your employee might also change their work schedule. Instead of coming in on a regular work schedule, they are working nights, coming to work late, or working on weekends when no one else is in the office. These changes could mean that your employee is actively looking for other work and might even be going for job interviews at other companies.
Your employee seems non-committal to the job or there is a change productivity.
You should keep an eye on whether or not your employee is getting their work in on schedule as usual. While one missed deadline might not be anything to be too concerned about, several instances where your employee is getting work in late might show that they’re not as committed to the job as they were before. Your employee might also appear visibly uncomfortable when presented with completing a long-term project, and be vague in their language as to what their plans are for project completion. Alternatively, employees might go from having a very regular schedule of meeting deadlines, but is suddenly submitting work way ahead of schedule. This could mean that they are looking for other work, but might just want to leave the company on good terms.
Your employee’s appearance changes
Employees who dress smartly at work when they are happy might suddenly start “dressing down” at the office when they are unhappy in their jobs. Also watch out for employees who usually dress in a casual manner for work, but are suddenly coming to the office wearing a suit and tie. This could mean job interview.
All of these changes are things for employers to watch out for. If this is happening, then the employer needs to engage with the employee to see what’s going on and if any changes can be made to get him back on track. If it is inevitable that your employee is going to quit, then it is important to spot these signs early, so that you can make preparations to replace him without too much disruption, and make a smooth transition to adding a new hire to your company.
