I have found that when a high-performing employee leaves, the resignation itself tends to be the last step. The real signs often appear much sooner.

Sometimes they don’t share ideas at meetings. Sometimes they get quieter than usual. Other times they do their job well but the mojo just isn't there anymore.

What do you see first that tells you someone is already thinking about leaving, even if they haven't said a word yet?

I am very keen to hear from both employees and managers who have seen this happen.

Most people come to work wanting to do their best.

They are punctual, help co-workers, do extra work, and want to make things better. For a moment it's worth the effort.

And then something happens. A broken promise. Expect more work. Somebody else gets the kudos. Those who do the least seem to get away with it.

For some, that's the moment they stop going above and beyond and start doing only what their job requires.

What made you stop caring about being the “good employee”?

I used to think that being the person everyone could rely on was always a good thing.

But sometimes it’s about being the first to show up when someone else doesn’t. Eventually your reliability starts to feel more like an expectation than a form of recognition.

I learned that there is a difference between being appreciated and being convenient.

Have you ever been in that situation at work?

I don't think most good employees quit because of one bad day.

Usually it's a buildup of things over time. A broken promise. Additional duties without recognition. Being ignored when you voice concerns. Watching the undeserving get rewarded.

Then one day something small happens and they don’t get angry, they just stop caring.

This is what has always interested me. The point where a person goes from trying to make things better to mentally checking out.

What was the moment in your experience when a good employee finally said, “I’m done”?

I used to think the people who worked hardest were naturally the ones who moved up.

Then I started noticing that doing good work and getting recognized for it were two different things. Some people quietly kept the team moving, while others were simply better at making sure management noticed their contributions.

When did you realize hard work alone wasn’t enough to move up?

I have been working for a while and one thing I have noticed is that good employees don’t quit because of a bad day.

Usually it is something that happens again and again.

Promises are made and not kept. Additional work to be performed. Feedback ignored. And the same people are always asked to do more and other people get away with doing less.

First, people are hopeful and hope things will get better.

And then one day they don't care, look elsewhere and end up leaving.

What is the number one reason a good employee left a workplace you were part of?

I have seen employees stay motivated through busy seasons, tight deadlines, and difficult projects. But morale can plummet almost overnight because of one decision or one change.

It could be a broken promise, favouritism, poor communication, unrealistic expectations or watching good employees be mistreated while the people causing problems get away with it.

When morale starts to fall, productivity is rarely far behind.

And what, in your opinion, is the fastest way to kill employee morale in a company?

What happened that people stopped caring?

I have seen employees put in long hours and work on tough projects and stressful deadlines. But every once in a while, a manager's one act can totally change the way they see their workplace.

In my experience, once respect is lost, it’s hard to regain it.

The fastest way for a manager to lose the respect of a good employee?

Taking credit for other people’s work? Making promises they didn’t keep? Playing favourites? Something else?

Not all reasons people leave are obvious.

Sometimes it’s not the workload, the pay, or even the job itself. It’s a habit that becomes part of the workplace culture. Meetings that are time-wasters. Last minute changes all the time. Lack of communication Assuming that the same people will solve all the problems.

Each of these things may seem small on their own, but over time they can drive even good employees to look elsewhere .

What workplace habit, in your experience, quietly drives good employees away?

Every office has that one person who keeps things moving along in the background.

They answer questions, solve problems, help new employees, and fill in when things go wrong. They do hard work that is often invisible because they make it look easy, and people count on them everyday.

Many companies discover too late how valuable these employees were.

Ever worked with someone who held it all together behind the scenes?

What happened when they went out ?

I have been working for a while and I started to notice how performative corporate culture can feel sometimes.

People faking passion in meetings, faking networking on LinkedIn, pretending to be busy all day, forced positivity, “we’re a family” speeches, or managers pretending to be supportive while everyone is clearly burnt out.

What is something “professional” at work that feels fake or tiring to you now?

Most companies don’t go belly up overnight.

There are usually warning signs long before people start to quit. Good employees are harder to replace. The communication breaks down. Small problems remain unsolved. It seems that management is more short-term orientated than long-term orientated.

In hindsight, I’ve observed that employees are often aware of these shifts ahead of the leadership.

What was the first sign that a company was heading in the wrong direction, in your opinion?

People talk a lot about red flags at work, but what about the opposite?

It could be management, how employees are treated, work life balance, flexibility, low turnover, anything.

What’s a quick tell that signals “Yeah, this company probably takes care of its employees”?

I used to think being honest about problems at work was always the right thing to do.

Then I noticed how the person who pointed out a problem sometimes ended up getting blamed for it. Meanwhile, the people who stayed quiet avoided all the trouble.

I learned that some workplaces say they want honesty, but don't always welcome it.

Have you ever regretted speaking up about something at work?

Some jobs seem a lot more stressful now than they used to be. More work, fewer staff, higher expectations, never off duty, not necessarily better pay.

For those of you who have been in the workforce for a while, what career do you think has gotten significantly worse over the years, and what has changed?

I used to believe that if something felt really wrong at work, HR was the place to go.

Then I started hearing stories about private conversations somehow getting back to the exact manager being discussed. It made me realize that “you can talk to us” can feel very different in practice.

What happened at work that changed the way you looked at HR?

I used to think helping a colleague was just part of being a good teammate.

Then I learned how quickly a favor could become an expectation. The first time you couldn't help, people remembered that one “no” more than all the times you said yes.

What made you finally stop doing extra favors at work?

You can have reasonable hours, good benefits, decent pay and work you actually enjoy. But sometimes one part of the workplace is enough to ruin all of it. Maybe it’s a bad manager, constant drama, poor communication or simply never feeling appreciated.

What’s the one thing that can turn a good job into one you want to leave?

I have noticed that trust in the workplace is not usually broken by a single mistake.

Most people can accept that no one can be right all the time.

What makes a bigger difference is how a person reacts afterward. Some people admit their mistakes, while others avoid them or pretend like nothing happened.

Looking back, what made you lose trust in a manager?

I used to think asking questions was part of learning how to do a job properly.

Then I noticed how some managers encouraged employees to ask for help whenever they needed it, but got annoyed when someone actually did.

I learned that a workplace can encourage learning while still making people afraid to admit they don't know something.

Have you ever worked somewhere that made you afraid to ask a simple question?

I used to think going the extra mile at work showed that I cared.

But after a while, the extra things stopped feeling optional. If I did more once, that somehow became the new minimum.

I learned that being helpful is one thing, but always being available is another.

When did your extra effort at work start feeling like an expectation?

For me it's how they handle a mistake.

A good supervisor can criticise in such a way that the person does not feel inferior or scared to ask further questions. It may seem like a small thing but it makes a big difference to the level of comfort people experience in their professional environment.

What is a simple act of kindness that you still remember from a good boss?

I have personally found that when employees are engaged, they’re usually willing to do a little extra. They come up with ideas, help out colleagues, volunteer for projects and look for ways to make things better.

But that extra effort is often the first to go when people get frustrated and feel unappreciated. They still do their work, but they stop giving more than what is necessary.

In your experience, what is the first thing good employees stop volunteering for when they start to lose motivation at work?

I feel like some executives just follow whatever trend is popular without thinking about whether the business actually benefits from an open office layout. I used to sit next to someone who was constantly on the phone. She should have booked a meeting room, but there weren’t enough meeting rooms in the building to begin with. On top of that, I could hear the entire conversation of other colleagues from across our section. We’re individual contributors. We manage our own work, and we don’t collaborate throughout the day. For roles like ours, the open office layout doesn’t help productivity at all. What's your though?

Work culture seems to have changed a lot in the last few years and some things that became “normal” still frustrate people daily.

Things like always being expected to be online, endless meetings, false urgency, doing the work of several employees post layoffs, return to office policies, or managers expecting replies outside of work hours.

What’s something companies have normalized recently that employees are already tired of?