Why Employees Quit and How Neuroscience Sheds Light on the Answer

Dr. CK Bray
Sep 25
3 min read

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Why Employees Quit and How Neuroscience Sheds Light the Answer

We’ve been circling the same explanations for years: better pay, flexible work, and poaching by competitors. But the real story runs deeper, and most leaders still miss it: people don’t leave because of a single bad day or a slightly bigger paycheck. They leave because their work no longer sparks progress, purpose, or possibility.

Here’s the twist: this isn’t about perks or surface-level fixes. It’s about the brain. When employees feel stuck or undervalued, the very systems that fuel motivation, dopamine pathways tied to anticipation and reward, go quiet. Stress hormones rise, thinking narrows, and “just get through the day” becomes the norm. Over time, that brain state becomes unbearable. Quitting feels like the only way to reset.

So, the question isn’t “How do we keep people from leaving?” It is, “How do we make staying feel like a path to growth, not a sentence to stagnation?” That requires rethinking progress, autonomy, and trust in ways most organizations aren’t doing yet.

What Truly Drives People Out

The research reveals a tug-of-war dynamic:

Push factors: Negative workplace experiences, like feeling undervalued, untrusted, or unclear on purpose, push employees away.

Pull factors: Conversely, the promise of meaningful work, trust, and growth opportunities draws them toward new possibilities

The most persistent reasons for quitting coalesce around four deeply human “quests for progress”:

Get out: escaping roles that feel toxic, mismatched, or career-stalling.

Regain control: seeking autonomy and predictability in an unpredictable work life.

Regain alignment: wanting roles that truly match their skills, values, and aspirations.

Take the next step: pursuing personal growth or a new chapter after achieving a milestone.

The Role Neuroscience Plays: Meaning, Dopamine & Trust

From a neuroscience lens, staying engaged isn’t just about “being happy” at work it’s about having internal systems that feel motivated, valued, and purposeful:

Dopamine is anticipation, not just reward. When employees perceive meaningful progress and alignment, their brains release dopamine—not only when goals are achieved but as they work toward them. That dopamine keeps them energized and engaged.

Trust and psychological safety buffer stress. When people feel truly valued—trusted to handle important work and understood by peers—their stress response (amygdala activation and cortisol) is diminished. Their prefrontal cortex can stay online for creative thinking, not defensive survival.

Autonomy sustains motivation. Knowing the “why” behind work and having a sense of control over one’s contributions activates reward circuits tied to intrinsic motivation—making the daily grind feel purpose-driven rather than burdensome.

What Companies Can Do About It

So, what does this mean for leaders? The researchers recommend three strategic shifts:

Interview long before exit: hold “engagement interviews” to uncover which of the four quests your employees are pursuing.

Create “shadow job descriptions” and adapt roles to let people see how their current skills and aspirations align with new challenges.

Work with HR to support progress: redesign roles, stretch opportunities, or offer tailored paths that keep people growing, aligned, and motivated.

By shifting the focus from merely retaining to enriching work, organizations don’t just hold onto talent; they build motivation, reduce brain fatigue, and create workplace experiences people want to stay in.

Retention isn’t about holding people in place; it’s about giving them a future worth running toward.

If you want to take a deeper dive into this topic read Why Employees Quit: New Research Points to Some Surprising Answers. Harvard Business Review November-December 2024

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