Revenge leaving explained: causes, impact and ways to brake it
The past few years have made drastic changes to the workplace. Remote work and hybrid has become common, suddenly passing from a privilege appreciated by only a small percentage of the workforce. Coupled with major layoffs in various industries, employees have acquired a new perspective on the balance between professional and private life and how consumption they can be for their companies. This led to the phenomenon of “leaving silent”, where employees would go emotionally without officially resigning. Recently, however, the trend seems to have changed, with more employees deciding to get out of their work to make a declaration. This has become known as “merger of revenge”, and it quickly increases as a concern for leaders. Let us see what this phenomenon implies, how it happened and what measures the leaders can take to prevent it.
What does revenge leave? Reasons and signs to know
The phenomenon of revenge creation refers to employees who suddenly leave their jobs, with a minimum or no notice. This action mainly aims to interfere with their employer by removing their ability to prepare for their departure, thus expressing their frustration concerning their conditions of employment.
Revenge leaving can be the result of several factors, ranging from professional exhaustion and disengagement to negative experiences in its own right in the workplace. It is often a situation which does not occur from one day to the next, but which rather takes months, even years. Employees do not only resign in a spectacular way because their idea was rejected once. On the contrary, there are several cases of failed communication, lack of recognition and lack of respect to lead them to such a decision. Other factors have also aggravated this tendency to work, such as rapid technological progress, contradictory expectations between employees and employers, and the growing importance of the balance between professional and private life.
Since it is a situation that is preparing for a long time, it is possible for leaders to seize the warning panels This could indicate that an employee plans to take revenge to leave. Let's see what these are.
Lack of transparency concerning professional growth
Although employees have the impression of deserving a promotion, or even if they are one, they may not eventually get it. Companies often make the mistake of initiating external hiring processes instead of giving existing employees the opportunity to advance their career, which makes employees feel undervalued and neglected.
Inability to connect with a deeper objective
It is essential that employees feel that their work contributes to a broader objective and is important for the overall objectives of their business. When this sense of objective is lacking, employees feel insignificant in the global image of the company, which can lead to demotivation and disengagement.
Conflicts that sink
Conflicts at the workplace are to be expected and are not necessarily harmful. However, many problems can occur when they are not resolved long enough to start driving rifles between employees and affecting their collaboration. Leaving such problems unattended can have serious consequences on morale and employee engagement, often forcing them to seek other job opportunities.
Disengagement to work unrelated to work
Employees who are satisfied with their roles and their work environment will form a community with their colleagues and wish to interact with them outside the scope of their role. This may include more glacial conversations, lunch together or launch collaborative projects. The absence of such interactions may indicate that the employee does not feel part of the company's culture and will not hesitate to leave without warning if the opportunity arises.
What is the impact of revenge that has left companies?
At first glance, the merger of revenge is a major disruptor of the workflow and can considerably affect productivity for a period of time. However, there are more ways of which it can have a negative impact on your business.
Increase in hiring costs
Having to replace a short -term employee forces you to launch an emergency job process, for which you may not have the necessary resources. Without forgetting that the pressure to fill the position can lead you to bad hiring decisions, which leads to another hiring process much earlier than you would have liked.
Loss
Although the replacement of an employee can be a simple process, replacing his skills and specific knowledge is much more difficult. Especially when they leave without notice, these employees often do not share important information with their colleagues. Consequently, the remaining members of the team are left to fill the void created by the absence of the outgoing employee.
Low employees morality
Sudden outings can create feelings of uncertainty and frustration among the employees who remain behind. The effectiveness of the team is affected, the workloads increase and their accumulated knowledge decrease. This can harm the morale and the motivation of the team, potentially triggering a domino effect of resignations.
Impact on the reputation of the brand
One negative aspect of the merger of revenge is that it could involve public outings and publications on social networks, which can tarnish the reputation of your business. This may have an impact on your relationships with customers who may no longer trust you, or potential employees who may hesitate to apply for a company that has pushed one or more employees to resign.
5 steps that leaders can take to prevent revenge leave
1. Keep an eye on warning signs
As we mentioned earlier, employees do not decide to take revenge from one moment to another. Given that this is a situation that evolves over time, employers have many opportunities to identify the warning signs that an employee is uningking. For example, they could notice a drop in employee motivation, a prolonged period of low energy or missed periods. Keeping an eye on such indicators allows managers to talk to employees and understand how they can renew their commitment before it is too late.
2. Build a culture of trust and respect
Employees are unlikely that employees are committed to revenge to resign if they work in an open and confidence environment. Even if another job opportunity they want to continue presents itself, they will give a lot of notice before leaving. But how to promote a Culture of respect and confidence? Everything comes down to open communication, and more precisely, to be transparent on objectives, expectations and even challenges, encouraging employees to share honest comments and to repercussions this honesty, while ensuring that their voices are heard and valued. If you make in the construction of such a working environment, your employees will be faithful and committed.
3. Recognize employees
Celebrating achievements is the key to keeping employees happy, committed and positive towards their colleagues and, above all, supervisors. Do not forget not to focus only on the results, but also to recognize and reward efforts. Even if a project did not go exactly as planned, this does not mean that the hard work of employees should go unnoticed. In addition, employee recognition should be specific. Instead of saying “good work” when nobody is there, say something like “John, your contributions to the financial report of client X were crucial for their renewal of contract”, and share it on a corporate communication channel. In this way, employees will feel valued and were part of a support community.
4. Support the flexibility and well-being of employees
More often than not, the main culprit behind the merger of revenge is professional exhaustion. In other words, overloaded and underestimated employees whose negative feelings about their work end in a vindictive resignation. To avoid this, reconsider your business position on well-being of employees and his commitment to protect him. More specifically, do your employees work a reasonable number of hours? Do they have flexibility options and days of well-being? Can they disconnect completely outside working hours, or are they still calling? The answers to these questions will decide on the health of a workplace and the probability that this leads the employees to undergo professional exhaustion and to leave perhaps.
5. Provide growth and development possibilities
Stagnation can ensure that employees feel bitters about their employer, especially when their performance justifies more than a promotion or an increase. However, if your business does not frequently undergo internal changes, you can always show employees your appreciation by helping them to improve their current skills or acquire new ones. Give them the opportunity to participate in training programs that will help them perfect their hard and general skills, such as their communication and leadership capacities. In this way, when the time when they come to make a lateral or vertical movement in their careers, they will be better prepared for this.
Conclusion
A new trend is present in the business world in 2025, and it is not positive. While employees develop more appreciation for their well-being and their balance between professional and private life, they become more inclined to leave employers who fail to express the same respect for these values. Revenge leaving is often the result of a working environment that lacks open communication, honesty, development opportunities and a positive corporate culture. Its impact may be quite significant, which makes employers imperative to take the necessary measures to prevent employees from resigning so disruptive. Take into consideration the measures that we have described above to maintain a committed workforce and prevent this trend in work from affecting your business.
At Learnopoly, Finn has championed a mission to deliver unbiased, in-depth reviews of online courses that empower learners to make well-informed decisions. With over a decade of experience in financial services, he has honed his expertise in strategic partnerships and business development, cultivating both a sharp analytical perspective and a collaborative spirit. A lifelong learner, Finn’s commitment to creating a trusted guide for online education was ignited by a frustrating encounter with biased course reviews.