Don't sit idly by if you want your staff to stay

Abstract

PurposeAdvises bosses of firms large and small about how to prevent their talented staff leaving mid‐career now that employees are increasingly reluctant to work long hours.Design/methodology/approachDiscusses changing employee attitudes and how HR managers should react to these changes.FindingsUrges organizations to put in structures that ensure all staff are working efficiently and fairly. Suggests that, with the right structure, regular monitoring and “policing”, enormous amounts of time will be liberated, enabling staff to reduce their working hours and take longer holidays. Argues that there is a balance to be struck in giving employees the right amount of responsibility: they should have enough, so that their judgment and intelligence are fully used, but not so much that they feel overburdened and are unable to relax after work. Contends that holiday cover should be provided so that employees do not return to a mountainous in‐tray.Practical implicationsStresses the key role of HR managers in ensuring that employees do not become overburdened with work and opt to leave the organization.Originality/valueProvides a viewpoint from the front line – the chief executive of City of London stockbroking firm Corporate Synergy, who has had to confront the issues about which he writes.