Workers say poor work-life balance is the top reason for resignation

Published June 6, 2023 - HR Dive
Kate Tornone, Lead Editor

Dive Brief:

• Poor work-life balance is the top reason workers say they resign, according to the June 2 results of a FlexJobs survey.
• Forty-two percent of professionals responding to the survey said they were actively thinking about quitting their job; another 20% said they had recently quit. After poor work-life balance, workers most commonly said they were driven to job hunt by low or unfair pay; a toxic culture; and a feeling that they were disrespected or undervalued.
• The results stand in contrast to last year’s: In FlexJobs’ 2022 survey, toxic culture took the top spot.

Dive Insight:

Work-life balance has long ranked high on workers’ wishlists. Some say there’s no such thing anymore, that work-life balance has given way to “work-life blend.”

But employees are divided on which they prefer: According to 2022 research from Gallup, there are two types of employees ・“splitters,” those who prefer work and life to be separated entirely, and “blenders” who prefer a work-life blend.

Both groups can be engaged, productive employees, a Gallup researcher said at the time. But crucially, employers have to know who they’re dealing with; managers can adjust workflows to accommodate those preferences, for example, experts have suggested. A failure to do so can drive burnout, among other issues, Gallup said.

The FlexJobs finding that poor work-life balance may be driving employees out the door is seemingly supported by other research. According to 2018 Robert Half survey results, employees who found balance between their jobs and personal lives were more likely to demonstrate loyalty to their employer than those struggling to balance the two.