When you lose a great employee it can be devastating.

Not only does it mean that you’ve suddenly got a massive hole in operations, you’re all scrambling to fill it and that you suddenly have to spend time recruiting, but it also means disappointment and second guessing your company culture.

Losing a great employee can be a blow to your company (and to you personally).

If you’re trying to make sense of an unceremonious employee departure or improve retention before you receive an onslaught of resignation letters, here’s a look at 7 reasons why an employee might leave, even if they like working for you.

1. Too much bureaucracy

Perhaps they really like the idea of your company, but find the execution lacking. For example, they like their role, but they don’t actually get to do enough of it because there is too much red tape.

There are many ways that bureaucracy can manifest itself. For example, there could be simply too much paperwork for the simplest action – perhaps because there’s a massive hierarchy of leadership that needs to be informed about every detail.

A lot of employees find that they’re spending far too much time on emails. Sure, some of this is unavoidable, but if a large chunk of this is an internal workflow issue, then you might have too much bureaucracy.

Alternatively, making any new decision might just take too much time, or be resisted internally by the powers that be. This can be immensely frustrating, particularly for good employees who want to make a difference.

2. Micromanagement

They say that employees don’t leave companies, they leave bosses. One of the biggest reasons why employees leave their bosses is if they’re being micromanaged. There is no better way to destroy engagement than to micromanage an employee.

Does your leadership team (including you) give their peers enough freedom and cultivate a culture of trust? After all, when employees feel they aren’t trusted, they’re probably not going to stick around.

3. Lack of recognition

If you’re good at your role and you feel you’re doing good work, then chances are you want to get recognized. Is that happening in your company? Are you recognizing a good employee for the contributions they’re making?

You might think you are, but don’t be so certain. We often think things without actually acting on them. Your employees can’t read your mind — and unspoken recognitions are not much of a recognition at all.

You’ve got to make a habit of saying what you’re thinking — particularly if it is positive. In fact, it might be a good idea to choose times for recognition. Just make sure that you don’t wait for annual performance reviews to let your team know they’re appreciated.

Giving people some sort of recognition is vital if you want them to stick around.

4. It’s just a job

Millennials (and most people in general) don’t just want a job. They want a purpose and they’d like to think that the company they work for aims for that goal as well.

For that reason, if your company does not have a vision, if it’s all about profit rather than people and purpose, then some employees will leave even if they do feel fulfilled in other areas of their role.

The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to make sure your vision and core values are clearly communicated.

Not sure how to communicate your vision? You might want to get some help. Get somebody with a real talent for language to shape your vision into something that really shines. Don’t know anybody like that? Then use writing services — like Flash Essay, ContentWriters, and Godot Media — that can help you with your editing and copywriting needs.

Unsure how to best work with freelance writers, don’t fall victim to 10 of the most common lies copywriters like to tell.

5. Overworked

It doesn’t matter how much you like what you do, if you have to do too much of it and sacrifice everything else, then you’re not going to stick around for long. Overworking leads to stress, bad health, neglected friends and family and exhaustion.

One of the big reasons that your employees might be overworked is due to a lack of adequate staff, poorly managed resources and a lack of strong project management.

When an overworked employee leaves that means that all of their work will suddenly fall on the shoulders of other employees. That domino effect can negatively impact an entire team if it’s not addressed early on.

6. Stagnation

Have you ever felt like you’re not getting anywhere? Not a great feeling, is it? Your employees can experience those same feelings: if they are doing a good job, there should be growth. Growth can include a new position, new responsibilities or monetary rewards.

Keep in mind, there is also a problem with simply promoting people. Some people are perfect where they are and if you promote them they’ll do a much worse job. If you promote someone who doesn’t welcome a new challenge, they’ll feel their perfect position is gone and they’ll likely leave as well.

7. Lack of engagement

People are massively disengaged in their workplace. In fact, a recent Gallup poll finds that less than 30% of millennials feel engaged. The problem with disengagement is that it really raises the chances of high turnover.

After all, like I mentioned earlier, people are looking for purpose. Therefore, the moment that something (they believe will engage them more) comes along, they’re gone.

There are a lot of reasons people won’t feel engaged. Many examples are listed above and different types of disengagement need to be tackled in different ways.

The best way to find out how engaged your employees are is by using anonymous surveys. This will give you the opportunity to learn how people really feel about working for you, and why.

Final thoughts

Many of these problems can be dealt with beforehand. Mainly, they require you to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your company.

Sure, it’s an investment of time, but if your employees stick around, then you won’t have to search for new ones, train them and spend even more money down the line. Ultimately, addressing problems before they start will save you more time and money by simply listening to your employees.

This article has been edited.

Malia Keirsey is a freelance web designer and an enthusiastic blogger. Her articles mostly are related to the business, marketing, and web design. She has started her path to the digital world five years ago after University’s graduation. Now she shares her experience and business tips through the blogging. Connect with @MaliaKeirsey on Twitter.

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