With the results now in, what did we learn? Well, there’s a pretty clear signal that one major factor is holding the key to both retainment – and resignation – in 2022.

Why did people leave their jobs?

When we asked this question, LinkedIn had a clear answer, and the stats speak for themselves. 54% of respondents pointed to a negative work culture. While a further 30% stated their decision was down to a lack of development opportunities.

Why are people staying in their current roles?

While the results were less glaring here, the trend is still clear. Flexibility is a big factor, as reported by 35% of respondents. Meanwhile, 33% of people report a positive culture, team and leaders as a leading factor in staying put.

So let’s talk about culture.

Workplace culture is clearly a leading factor in the retainment v resignation push and pull that many organisations are currently contending with. That’s no great revelation. But how can you tell whether your workplace culture is healthy or not?

In our experience, here are a few red flags to look out for:

• You don’t have a defined set of core values, vision or purpose for your business. Or they exist, but aren’t demonstrated and communicated effectively by management level staff. When people in a business don’t ‘lead by example’ you’ll often find a culture that doesn’t feel psychologically safe for everyone. That leads to people not feeling they can speak up in meetings, or collaborate openly with colleagues across the business. It means talented people don’t thrive, and likely won’t stick around.
• High level decisions aren’t being communicated throughout the business. If important changes are being thrust on people with no prior notice, and they have no chance to offer their feedback, then mistrust and apathy will creep in.
• New starters don’t stick around.  If you’re finding your new recruits don’t tend to stick around long enough to establish themselves, your culture isn’t equipped to nurture emerging talent.
• Surging absenteeism and lateness. Sometimes people get ill, traffic jams derail commutes and poorly kids need collecting from school. That’s nothing new. But when the sick days and late starts begin to mount up, it’s a sure sign of a wider malaise.
• The lack of professional development opportunities. It’s telling that this was an issue for a significant number of respondents. People now expect their employers to proactively provide them with regular channels to further their skills and knowledge. These days, if your culture doesn’t actively promote development, across a variety of channels, the grass will quickly look much greener elsewhere.

If you recognise any of these red flags, the good news is that your company culture can be fixed with the right approach.

After all, culture isn’t a static thing. For instance, a hothouse culture that powered a start-up through several years of incredible growth can easily stagnate once the workforce grows beyond that initial group of passionate founders. Or the shift to hybrid working can mean once effective managers have lost their ability to inspire teams in the same way now face to face meeting have become less common.

ABSTRACT can finetune your culture, and develop your people.

At ABSTRACT, we’ve worked with many major businesses over the years. We’ve consulted on wide ranging cultural transformation programmes, and watched those clients rise to new levels of success. And through our range of award-winning management learning and development programmes, we’ve upskilled and inspired cohorts to take on the challenges facing their businesses in the modern era. We can do the same for you, and your people.

If you want to improve your culture, and the affect it has on your ability to retain, develop and inspire your people through the challenges of 2022 and beyond, we’re here to help. Get in touch today.