Harvard Business School -Why Employees Stay?

Many companies invest significant time and resources in exploring the causes of employee turnover, often through exit interviews. Their goal is to understand why employees leave and find ways to reduce turnover. However, this approach has two key drawbacks. First, it only looks at the termination side, ignoring the importance of understanding why people choose to stay in their jobs. Just as in a marriage, reasons for divorce are not the exact opposite of reasons for staying married. Second, this approach assumes a perfect correlation between job dissatisfaction and turnover, which is not always the case.

In reality, employees stay for various reasons, including job satisfaction, company environment, external job opportunities, financial responsibilities, family ties, friendships, and community relations. Therefore, it's essential for companies to understand why employees stay and reinforce the right reasons to improve retention. This can be achieved by providing conditions that align with employees' values for working and living. A more positive approach to managing retention is more effective in the long run than just reducing turnover.

Reference: https://hbr.org/1973/07/why-employees-stay