Great Resignation or Toxic Organisational Culture

In a recent article (2) from MIT Sloan, the five leading causes contributing to the global movement included; a toxic corporate culture, job insecurity, high levels of innovation, failure to recognise performance and a poor response to COVID-19 ... and yes, in that order.

The report focused internally on the US sector, but many would agree that the same summation ultimately strikes a chord here. In a similar report, toxic culture was identified as the single most deciding factor of attrition during the first six months of the Great Resignation, viewed 10 times more powerful than how employees viewed their compensation in predicting employee turnover (3). The link between a toxic organisational culture and staff resignations is then very clear.

So how do we retain our staff? Realistically a great organisation can be compared to a grand, majestic galley ship of old. Built by sturdy material, designed with to withstand any scenario, captained by a knowledgable skipper, operated by rowers working in a high functioning unit with one aim - to sail, to sail well and to sail safe!

The metaphor of the galley ship is a great one to describe how performance can be achieved through sound, sustainable and demonstrable organisational culture, underpinned by great leadership that drives high performing teams made up of individuals encouraged to reach their potential.

Of course there are a myriad of reasons any given employee may move on, but generally employees are more likely to exit organisations that fail to distinguish between high performers and under-achievers whom are merely tolerated when it comes to recognition and rewards. High-performing and self-actualising employees are the most likely to resent a lack of recognition for their results, which means that companies may be losing some of their most productive workers during this 'great resignation'.