September 04, 2007
High level executives bail out early
NEW YORK, NY -- Increasingly companies are finding it hard to retain their high-level executives. It seems that money doesn't trump happiness in the workplace for these execs. According to the 15th annual Job Market Intelligence report from Execunet, job dissatisfaction starts to creep in after only 14 months into an executive's tenure. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they felt that disengagement occurred as early as 10 months into a new job.
"If executives are only staying at their jobs for roughly 35 months and they are becoming disillusioned after 14, that's more than a year and a half on average where they start thinking about the grass being greener, and they become open to new opportunities," said Dave Opton, CEO and founder of Execunet. That means companies looking to hold onto their prize hires should look to factors aside from pay.
In fact, only 9 percent of surveys respondents cited inadequate compensation as their reason for being discontent. Thirty-nine percent of executives cited "personal growth," or the lack thereof, with 13.2 percent noting limited advancement opportunities, 12.9 percent cited a lack of challenges and 6.5 percent itching for more managerial responsibilities. Twenty percent blamed workforce atmosphere, while 19 percent cited lifestlye issues, especially in terms of stress and a lack of work-life balance.
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