Employee Retention Statistics (2026 Data and Trends)

Half your team is thinking about leaving. Not someday. Right now.

That is not hyperbole. Gallup puts the number at 51% of employees either watching for or actively seeking a new job. PwC says 28% are very or extremely likely to switch employers within the next year.

The question is not whether you will lose people. You will. The question is whether you understand why, what it costs, and what actually moves the needle on keeping them.

Here are the numbers.

The state of retention in 2026

The job market has cooled since the Great Resignation peak, but employees have not stopped evaluating their options. If anything, they have gotten quieter about it.

• 51% of employees are either watching for or actively seeking a new job (Gallup)
• 28% of workers globally say they are very or extremely likely to switch employers in the next year (PwC)
• 56% of employers found it more challenging to retain talent over the past year (CIPD)
• 93% of organizations say they are concerned about employee retention (World of Learning)
• 41% of employers say new recruits sometimes or often resign within the first 12 weeks (CIPD)

That last one stings. You spend weeks hiring someone, and four in ten employers say those new hires frequently walk within three months.

TL;DR The average employer loses 18.3% of its workforce annually. Turnover costs 33% of salary per person. The top reasons people quit: toxic culture, no career growth, and lack of flexibility. Recognition programs reduce turnover by up to 29%. Strong onboarding improves retention by 82%. For shift-based teams, predictable scheduling and easy shift swaps are among the most effective (and cheapest) retention tools.

The real cost of losing people

Every resignation triggers a cascade of costs that most managers underestimate. Posting the job, screening candidates, interviewing, onboarding, training, lost productivity while the new hire ramps up. It adds up fast.

• Turnover costs average 33% of an employee's annual salary (Capital Analytics)
• US companies spent nearly $900 billion replacing employees in 2023 (Work Institute)
• 87% of companies underestimate how much turnover actually costs (SecondTalent)
• 68% of turnover costs occur within the first 90 days after an employee leaves (SecondTalent)
• Only 17% of employers actually calculate their turnover cost (CIPD)
• 22% of companies say turnover costs them $100,000 or more per year (Express Employment Professionals)

For context: a $45,000/year employee costs roughly $15,000 to replace. A $75,000 employee costs about $25,000. And that is the average. For specialized or senior roles, replacement costs can reach 200% of annual salary.

The fact that 87% of companies underestimate these costs explains a lot. Hard to justify retention spending when you do not know what turnover is costing you.

Why employees actually leave

Ask a departing employee why they are leaving and you will usually get a polite answer. The real reasons run deeper.

Top reasons employees quit

• Toxic or negative work environment is the #1 reason at 32.4% (SHRM)
• Lack of career development is the top driver of voluntary exits (Vlerick / Great Place to Work)
• 47% cite limited career growth as their reason for leaving (SecondTalent)
• 52% would leave a job that does not offer flexibility (Randstad)
• 44% blame burnout on working too hard (Adecco)
• 55% would quit if they did not feel a sense of belonging (The Guardian)
• 50% without flexible work options are considering a job change (New Possible)

Notice what is not at the top of that list: pay.

Money matters, but it is rarely the primary reason someone walks out. Culture, growth, flexibility, and belonging dominate. These are things every manager can influence without a budget increase.

For shift-based teams specifically, "flexibility" often means something concrete: can I swap a shift when my kid is sick? Do I get my schedule more than two days in advance? Will I get the hours I asked for?

One manager on r/Restaurant_Managers summed it up: "Bend over backwards for your people and they'll bend over backwards for you." That is retention strategy in one sentence.

The first 90 days problem

The onboarding period is where retention is won or lost. The data is brutal.

• 70% of new employees decide whether a job is the right fit within their first month, including 29% within the first week (BambooHR)
• Strong onboarding improves retention by 82% (Brandon Hall)
• Only 12% of employees say their company onboards well (Gallup)
• 61% of organizations plan to invest in better onboarding this year (Brandon Hall)
• Companies have an average of 44 days to convince new hires to stay (BambooHR)

So onboarding is the single most impactful retention tool, and almost nobody does it well. That gap is an opportunity.

For hourly and shift workers, onboarding is even more critical. Day one sets the tone. If a new hire shows up and nobody knows they are coming, their schedule is wrong, and they cannot figure out how to check their shifts, you have already lost them mentally.

What actually keeps people

Recognition and belonging

• Employees who do not feel recognized are twice as likely to say they will quit (Gallup)
• Well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to turn over after two years (Gallup / Workhuman)
• 71% say they would be less likely to leave if recognized more frequently (NectarHR)
• Recognition programs can reduce turnover by up to 29% (GiftaFeeling)
• 36% would accept lower pay if they had friends at work (UNLEASH / Randstad)

Recognition does not have to mean formal programs or awards. A manager who notices when someone covers a tough shift, who says "good job" in front of the team, who remembers that an employee is studying for a certification. That counts.

Flexibility and work-life balance

• 83% of workers say work-life balance is more important than pay (Randstad)
• 41% would quit if hybrid/flexible work was taken away (YAROOMS)
• 86% of workers with flexible schedules say reduced commuting improved their wellbeing (IWG)

For desk workers, flexibility means remote or hybrid options. For shift workers, it means predictable schedules published in advance, easy shift swaps, and managers who accommodate availability requests without making it a production.

Career development

• Companies with a strong learning culture have 2x higher retention (Deel)
• 90% of organizations say learning is their #1 retention strategy (Deel)
• 93% say offering learning opportunities is their main path to retaining staff (World of Learning)

Even in hourly roles, development matters. Cross-training across positions, a clear path from server to shift lead to manager, mentorship from experienced team members. People stay where they can grow.

Retention by industry

Not all industries face the same challenge. Turnover rates vary dramatically:

Hospitality turning over its entire workforce every year is not sustainable. Neither is retail losing two-thirds of its people annually. These are the industries where retention improvements have the highest ROI.

The common thread in high-turnover industries: shift work, hourly pay, and unpredictable schedules. Addressing the scheduling piece alone can move the needle.

The scheduling connection

Bad scheduling does not show up in most retention research, but it is one of the strongest predictors of turnover in hourly workforces.

When employees do not know their schedule until the last minute, cannot swap shifts easily, or feel like scheduling is unfair, they leave. Not always dramatically. Sometimes they just stop showing up.

• Perceived scheduling unfairness kills morale faster than almost anything else
• Bad scheduling makes good employees quit before pay ever becomes the issue
• One callout can break your entire day when you are already understaffed from turnover

What works:

• Publish schedules at least 2 weeks in advance. Predictability is a form of respect.
• Let employees set their availability. Stop guessing who can work when.
• Make shift swaps easy. If swapping requires three phone calls and a manager signature, people just call in sick instead.
• Track hours automatically. Manual time tracking creates disputes that erode trust.

These are not expensive fixes. They are process fixes that signal to employees that their time matters.

How to measure retention at your company

If you are not tracking retention, you are flying blind. Here is the basic math.

Retention rate formula:

(Employees at end of period / Employees at start of period) x 100

Example: You started January with 30 employees and ended with 26. Your retention rate is 86.7%.

But the number alone does not tell you much. Track these alongside it:

• Voluntary vs. involuntary turnover. Firing someone is different from someone quitting. Separate the numbers.
• Tenure at departure. Are people leaving in month 2 or year 2? Very different problems.
• Department/location splits. One bad manager can skew your entire retention rate.
• Cost per departure. Even a rough estimate (33% of salary) gives you a dollar figure to justify retention spending.

What to do with these numbers

Statistics are useful when they change behavior. Here is what to actually do:

1. Calculate your real turnover cost. Use the calculator above. Show the number to whoever controls the budget.
2. Fix onboarding first. It is the cheapest, highest-impact retention fix. Make the first week intentional.
3. Ask departing employees the real reason. Exit interviews only work if people feel safe being honest. Consider anonymous surveys.
4. Publish schedules earlier. If you manage shift workers and you are still posting schedules 2-3 days out, you are actively pushing people toward the door.
5. Recognize people publicly. It costs nothing and reduces turnover by up to 29%.
6. Track retention monthly, not annually. By the time you see a bad annual number, you have already lost the people.

Retention is not a one-time project. It is what happens when you consistently make it easier to stay than to leave.

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Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (JOLTS), Gallup, SHRM, PwC, CIPD, Randstad, BambooHR, Work Institute, Brandon Hall, SecondTalent, Capital Analytics, Deel, NectarHR, Adecco, Express Employment Professionals, World of Learning, Eagle Hill Consulting

Related reading:

• The Real Cost of Employee Turnover (2026 Data)
• Employee Turnover Rate by Industry
• Bad Scheduling Makes Good Employees Quit
• Employee Scheduling: The Complete Guide
• Scheduling Fairness: Why Perceived Bias Kills Morale