Ive spoken to over 600 people about their career challenges. Here’s the top 3 things I've learnt about what makes people unhappy.

I’ve been teaching my Creative Career Level Up programme for over 2 years now. And in that time I’ve spoken to more than 600 people about their career challenges. 

It’s amazing to hear the things that people struggle with. Often it is not the things you think. In fact, before starting my programme, I would have thought that salary would be one of the top 3 reason that people wanted to move jobs…. But its not even top 5 based on the conversations I’ve had.

So here are the top 3 reasons people want to move jobs (in no particular order).

1. Toxic management

It’s estimated that over 75% of people leave jobs because of toxic managers or toxic workplace culture. And based on my conversations, I would believe this. 

Even with the ability to work from home (thus avoiding face-to-face with said toxic manager), most people I have spoken with, want to leave their current role because their manager is making their life hell.

Toxic management shows up in many ways - gas lighting, bullying, overworking their team, taking credit for teams work, not acknowledging their team with a ‘good morning’. It’s a long list.

In fact, it’s been the most shocking thing about my 600 conversations - that toxic managers exist on this level and that they are allowed to continue making peoples lives a misery.

LEADERS. MUST. DO. BETTER.

2. No longer learning

Much more important that salary, the people I spoke to want to be learning. When a job stops teaching them and their learning plateaus, their frustration with the job and their desire to leave increases dramatically.

This is particularly common in small marketing teams. Being in a team of 1 or 2 where you get lots of autonomy sounds good on PAPER but, the reality is, if you have no one to learn from, the learning curve is so much smaller.

Most people I speak to who have stopped learning are in marketing teams under 10 and are looking to move to big marketing teams at global brands as they feel they will learn more.

If you run a small marketing team, make sure you are consciously working out how to keep developing your team - otherwise, they are going to leave.

3. Feeling a lack of purpose

Again, a topic that came up way more often than salary, is needing to feel a sense of purpose in their role. It’s not enough to come to work everyday and collect a pay cheque. People want to feel their time has been well spent and that they are making a contribution.

And while a lot of Gen Z say they want that contribution to be on a grand global scale, once you start unpicking what ‘purpose’ means to people, it doesn’t always have to be about ‘changing the world’. It can be as simple as mentoring a team mate and feeling you are having an impact on their career. Or simply understanding the wider vision of the company so that you know why are coming to work each day.

People want clarity, direction and a sense that what they do matters. Even just on a small level.

Creating a healthy, thriving work environment in 2022 isn’t easy. There are so many complexities to the post-pandemic workplace and what employees need to find joy in their work. But if you remember these 3 things and keep coming back to them, it will go along way to retaining the great talent you have no doubt worked hard to recruit.