Why Do Top Engineering Talents Quit Their Jobs?
There is a famous saying, “People don’t leave jobs; they leave their bosses.” This applies so well with engineers.
Sometimes, engineers who are exceptional at their jobs are considered the biggest losses a company could suffer from. Since they are the ones who keep the engines running (literally or not), their bosses at engineering companies regret that the best employees are the ones who leave.
Little do these engineering managers realize that they are part of the problem. Only a small percent of job quitters resign from their companies due to personal reasons, but the greater number look for other opportunities because of how they were taken care of by their higher-ups.
There are 9 ways that bosses could cause the best engineers calling it quits:
They overwork people.
It is understandable for the boss to pitch all the critical work to the company’s most reliable employees. But this almost always leads to the top engineering talent’s burnout. It would feel like they are being punished for great performance, unless of course a bigger, heavier workload means a raise or promotion.
They never commend the workers’ good work and contributions.
It feels good when you do your all in certain tasks and projects with great outcomes. But it feels even better when the boss, to the very least, acknowledges the exceptional work done. The lack of the former often declines the engineer’s performance and confidence, which can worsen as an impression of the boss’ lack of employee appreciation, and worst, a cause to resign.
They fail to develop people’s skills.
No engineer wants to have a zero skill development, and instead wants to enhance their potentials. The best engineer never stops from becoming the best and always seek to expand his or her skill sets. When the engineer sees that the boss failed to improve his or her talent, there is a valid reason to leave.
They lack concern about their employees.
It’s pretty simple: bosses who do not care about their employees do not deserve great engineering talent working for them. They should see to it that the boss-employee relationship is founded on empathy.
They do not honor their commitments.
Engineers believe the contrary of “promises are meant to be broken”. Bosses who say that they will do this and that once something is accomplished and fail to commit are bound to lose engineers who expect that their bosses keep their words.
They let the wrong people lead.
When a good engineer is self-aware about his skills and capacities but finds the undeserving appointed by the boss to get a critical position, it is best to resign and find a company that will appreciate what you could offer.
They don’t let people pursue their passions.
Engineers should be given opportunities to pursue their passions which improves productivity and job satisfaction. Failure by the company and the boss to do so can mean eventual lacking of interest in the job.
They fail to engage creativity.
For a job in engineering, the work can really get technical which means that employees are bombarded with boring, highly unsatisfying work. To improve this daily work situation, the boss has to find a way to still let the employee’s creativity flow by incorporating some fun, creative tasks in any means possible that is still related to the job.
They don’t challenge people intellectually.
When it comes to intellectual stimulation, engineers lead the pack. They are obsessed with solving problems that the lack of such at work could be a ground for resignation. Well, what can they do? Engineers live to provide solutions – without the intellectual challenge at work, they are essentially dead.
Source: Entrepreneur
