For managersCareer, resignation, goal setting, and more

Employees Keep Quitting? What Managers Should Do Next

Updated October 27, 2026KAKEAI, Inc.

Short answer

When employees keep quitting, we recommend focusing on the people still working with you rather than collecting reasons from those who left. Review their workload, and ask them directly about how you manage, because complaints about the manager are hard to raise with the person who evaluates you. In KAKEAI's survey of 10,000 employees in Japan, 21.8% named problems such as being unable to bring up what they want to discuss or to speak honestly in manager meetings, so hearing no complaints does not mean there are none. Start your next meeting by taking work off their plate and answering the requests you left at "I'll look into it."

By the numbers

In KAKEAI's survey of 10,000 employees in Japan, the group with a low share feeling their meetings led to results was not people struggling to find time, but people unhappy with how their manager responds. Another 21.8% named problems such as being unable to bring up what they want to discuss or to speak honestly. We recommend asking the people still on your team about how you work with them, without waiting for them to raise it.

21.1%: 10,000-person survey; Among people who struggle with how their manager responds (for example, advice that isn't useful or broken promises), the share who feel their meetings lead to results; 27.3% of respondents named at least one of five problems with how their manager responds. Of these, 21.1% feel their meetings lead to results, below the 31.9% of all respondents.
41.7%: 10,000-person survey; Among people who struggle to find time for meetings or to schedule them, the share who feel their meetings lead to results; 39.6% of respondents named a time-related problem. Of these, 41.7% feel their meetings lead to results, above the 31.9% of all respondents.
21.8%: 10,000-person survey; Share who named problems in manager meetings such as being unable to bring up what they want to discuss or to speak honestly; Even among people who meet their manager regularly, some aren't telling their manager what they want to discuss or what they really think. Problems their manager hasn't heard about yet may still be there on the employee's side.

This survey did not ask about resignations. All figures come from questions about problems in regular manager meetings (multiple answers allowed) and whether people feel their meetings lead to results.

Source: KAKEAI, Inc. “1-on-1 Survey” (N=10,000, May 2026, online survey of employees in Japan)

The survey asked 10,000 employees in Japan who meet their manager regularly how those meetings feel from their side.

Source: KAKEAI, Inc. “Kakeai AI 1on1 usage data” (records of 300,000 1-on-1 sessions extracted from sessions held between October 12, 2025 and October 3, 2026, aggregated so that no company or individual can be identified)

When employees keep quitting, sort the reasons into three groups

When people on your team keep quitting, or your whole team has left, we recommend sorting the reasons into three groups. Simply listing the reasons people gave you will not tell you whether your own management was part of it. The dividing line is whether you can change it yourself.

Company terms or personal circumstances. Pay, location, policies, the outlook for the business, family circumstances, and so on. You can't change these alone, so take company terms to your own manager and HR.
Workload and how work is assigned. When one person leaves, their work falls to the people who remain and to you until a replacement is found. If you don't take work off people's plates, the extra load can become one more reason for the next resignation. Assignments are something you can change.
Your meetings with them and how you work with them day to day. You can change this too, but it is the reason you are least likely to notice yourself.

The third reason is hard for someone who is leaving to tell their manager. You are the person who evaluates them, and you will keep working together until their last day. "I never heard any complaints" and "All three had different reasons" are not evidence that nothing was wrong with how you managed.

Even when your team members give high scores after meetings, it often helps to ask them directly about how you work with them. Kakeai AI 1on1, KAKEAI's service that supports 1-on-1 meetings, has a "clarity score" that employees give after each 1-on-1, on a six-point scale from 0 to 5. In 300,000 1-on-1 sessions extracted from its usage data, 99.0% of the scores employees submitted were 4 or higher.

When your own manager or HR asks, "Why do people keep leaving your team?"

You don't need excuses or self-blame. It helps to talk in this order: the facts, what you will change yourself, and what you can't solve alone.

Three people have left my team in the past six months. The reasons they gave me were pay for one, family circumstances for one, and a move to a different kind of role for one.
There are two things I'm going to change myself. I'll reduce the workload of the 2 people still on the team this week, and I'll answer the questions my team raises in meetings by a set deadline.
There are also two things I can't solve alone: the workload until replacements are hired, and pay for after-hours coverage. Could I get some time with you this week to discuss them?

When people keep quitting, look at what happens in meetings before how much time you spend

When people keep leaving, before regretting that you didn't make enough time for meetings, look at how you handle yourself in those meetings.

In KAKEAI's survey of 10,000 employees in Japan, 39.6% named finding time for meetings, whether their own or their manager's, or scheduling them, as a problem with their manager meetings. Of these, 41.7% felt their meetings led to results, higher than the 31.9% of all respondents.

Meanwhile, 27.3% named at least one of five problems with how their manager handles meetings, such as "What my manager says isn't useful" or "My manager's response isn't what I hoped for." Among these people, only 21.1% felt their meetings led to results. The group with the lower share feeling their meetings achieved something was not those struggling to find time, but those unhappy with how their manager responds.

What employees struggle with in meetings (share who named it)	Of these, share who feel meetings lead to results	Example of what to say in your next meeting
My manager's response isn't what I hoped for (12.9%)	23.4%	"For today, which is closest: you want me to listen, think it through with you, or give my opinion?"
What my manager says isn't useful (8.2%)	8.2%	"Is there anything in your current work that needs a decision from me? Also tell me where you're short on information or people."
My manager doesn't remember what we talked about before (6.2%)	26.4%	"Last time we talked about [topic]. If I'm remembering it wrong, please tell me."
My manager doesn't act on what we discussed or doesn't keep promises (6.2%)	23.2%	"Is there anything I said I'd take care of that hasn't moved?"
My manager isn't committed to holding meetings (3.9%)	20.4%	"I'm sorry I've canceled our meetings several times for my own reasons. From now on, when I need to reschedule, I'll set a new date right then."

Of the five, the lowest share feeling their meetings led to results was among those who named "What my manager says isn't useful." That problem was named by 8.2% of respondents, and the share of them who felt their meetings led to results was also 8.2%.

In the same survey, 21.8% named at least one of three problems such as being unable to bring up what they want to talk about, or not speaking honestly because they worry about how it affects their evaluation.

Complaints about how a manager responds are even harder to tell that manager directly. We recommend asking about your own approach yourself, rather than waiting for your team to bring it up.

What to talk about with the team members who remain

In your next 1-on-1 with each person still on the team, it often helps to start by talking about taking work off their plate, and by answering any requests you left at "I'll look into it." Just asking "How are things lately?" won't lighten their load. The five steps below are one way to run it. Change the order to suit the person.

1. Spend 15 minutes before the meeting writing down three things

For each team member, write down three things: what you discussed in your last meeting, anything you answered with "I'll look into it" or "Let me think about it" and never got back on, and work that moved to them from people who left. If you can't remember something, ask them in the next meeting.

2. Start by talking about reducing their work

[Name] has left, and [Name] is leaving next month too. Work is piling up on everyone who's still here, and I'm sorry about that. Could we start with that today?
How about we list out the work you're carrying now together? I'd like the two of us to decide today what to stop and what to put off.
I'll ask the department head whether we can pause the weekly report until replacements are in place. I'll tell you the result on Thursday.

3. Bring up requests you haven't answered yet yourself

Last month I promised to check with HR about your working hours, and I still haven't done it. I'm sorry. I'll check by Friday and tell you the result next Monday.

4. Ask about how you work with them, with options

If there's anything about how I work with you that you think I should change, could you tell me? For example, how I give instructions, how quickly I respond when you ask for help, or how we use these meetings. Does any of those come to mind?
It doesn't have to be right now. I'd like to ask you again at our next meeting, too.

Even if the answer is "Nothing in particular," that doesn't mean they have no requests. First keep your own promises, then ask again at the next meeting.

5. End the meeting by agreeing together on next steps

Before our next meeting, I'll check with HR about your working hours and let you know the result. Shall we also decide what you'd like to move forward in your work by next time?

If concerns about health or harassment come up in a meeting, don't judge the situation on your own. Thank them for telling you, get their consent, and talk with HR or your occupational health contact.

After your whole team has quit: what to say in your first meeting with new team members

After your whole team has left, what you can do is build a relationship with each new person from your very first meeting. Tell them first what you want to use the meeting time for.

I'd like this meeting to be time for moving your work forward. If anything is hard to move forward or you're unsure about something, I want to think it through with you here.
For a while, at the start of each meeting, could you tell me what you want to talk about that day and what you'd like from me? It helps to know which is closest: you want me to listen, think it through with you, or give my opinion.
For anything I've promised to do, I'll report the result at the start of the next meeting. If I forget, please don't hesitate to remind me.

It is also a good idea to be open about the fact that previous members left. Don't go into each person's reasons. Share only the number and what you yourself are changing.

Three people have left this team in the past year. I wanted you to hear it from me before you heard it from someone else.
I'm currently reviewing how work is assigned and how we run these meetings. If anything makes your work hard to move forward, please tell me early.

What to avoid when employees keep quitting

When people keep leaving your team, here are four things to avoid.

Concluding "People these days just quit" or "The company's terms are bad." Even if there is some truth to it, stopping there hides what you can do in your next meeting. On the other hand, taking all the blame on yourself won't lead to your next step either.
Trying to win back the relationship with more meetings or more dinners. In KAKEAI's survey of 10,000 employees in Japan, among people who meet once a week or more but said meetings don't lead to action, 12.7% felt their meetings led to results. Among people who meet less than once every two months but said meetings do lead to action, it was 52.8%. Even with fewer meetings, people whose meetings lead to action tend to feel more is achieved. Before adding meetings, try answering one request you left at "I'll look into it."
Deciding to just listen and let them vent. KAKEAI does not recommend deciding from the start that your role in meetings is to only listen. Some meetings can end with listening, but what people want from their manager differs by person and by meeting. If nothing changes after you listen, all they take away is that speaking up changed nothing. Pushing advice or persuasion they didn't ask for is just as much to be avoided.
Asking "You're not going to quit, are you?" When the manager who evaluates them asks this, the only possible answer is "No." It often helps to ask about the work instead, such as "Over the past six months, has anything made your work harder to move forward?" Raises and transfers aren't yours alone to decide, so don't promise them to keep someone.

How to tell whether things are starting to change

Changes in a team where people keep leaving are likely to show up in meetings before they show up in the number of resignations. People also leave for family reasons or because of company terms, so the number alone can't tell you much. Look back on your meetings with each person using these three points.

At the end of the meeting, did the two of you agree on next steps? Did what you took on have a deadline?
Did you answer the requests you left at "I'll look into it" before the next meeting?
Over about three meetings, did your team member start bringing up what makes their work hard or what they want from you on their own?

Once they start raising requests on their own, it will likely be easier for them to come to you early if they start wondering whether to stay.

What Kakeai AI 1on1 can do in this situation

So that what you discuss and decide with your team doesn't get dropped, even in a busy stretch after several resignations, Kakeai AI 1on1 can help in these ways.

Before the 1-on-1

Choosing a topic and the response you'd like
Before a 1-on-1, the team member can choose the topic they want to discuss and how they would like their manager to respond (the expected response). Depending on your settings, managers can choose topics too. The selections appear on both of your screens.
Conversation history digest by topic
On the "Overview" screen for each person you meet with, you can look back at a written digest of the past six months of 1-on-1s prepared by Kakeai AI, along with what you have discussed under each topic. You both see the same content.

During the 1-on-1

Next-step suggestions from the conversation, with help deciding
When a possible next step comes up in the conversation, Kakeai AI shows it as a suggestion. Either of you can click the "Decide" button to confirm it. Next steps you decide are added to the "MOVE" screen.

Day to day

Summaries and next steps in one place
The summary of each 1-on-1 is collected on the "Schedule & History" screen, and the next steps you decided are collected on the "MOVE" screen, organized by each person you meet with. You can look back at them anytime.

Kakeai AI 1on1 is currently available in Japanese. If you would like to use it in English, let us know.

Used by 600+ companies / 3,000,000+ 1-on-1s supported

Frequently asked questions

Is it my fault as their manager that people keep quitting?

The reasons people keep quitting don't necessarily lie with the manager alone. Several reasons may overlap, such as company terms, personal circumstances, a heavier workload after someone leaves, and how the manager works with the team. Of these, what you can change yourself is how work is assigned and how you work with people. Rather than asking whose fault it is, start by taking one task off the plate of someone still on your team, and answering one request you left at "I'll look into it."

What are the traits of managers whose employees keep quitting?

KAKEAI's survey of 10,000 employees in Japan has no data on traits shared by managers whose team members keep leaving. But in the same survey, among people who struggle with how their manager responds, such as advice that isn't useful or broken promises, the share who felt their meetings led to results was lower. Rather than looking for traits that apply to you, ask your team members directly about how you handle meetings.

When people keep quitting, should I gather the whole remaining team to talk?

When you gather everyone, it often works best to limit it to sharing settled facts, such as who is leaving when and how work will be divided. Complaints about workload or requests for the manager are hard to raise in front of others. Within one week of the group update, set aside 15 minutes with each person and ask them individually.

We're short-staffed after several resignations. Can I cancel or shorten 1-on-1s with the people who remain?

Even when you're short-staffed, we recommend keeping 1-on-1s with the people who remain, shortened to about 15 minutes. Work from those who left lands on those who stay, so you need a place to decide together what to stop doing. In KAKEAI's survey of 10,000 employees in Japan, the share who felt their meetings led to results was 26.0% for people whose meetings last 10 minutes and 31.3% for those whose meetings last 30 minutes. The 30-minute group was slightly higher, but the gap is small.

I'm new in the role and people have already left one after another. Where should I start?

As a new manager, you can't know whether the people who left were already thinking about it under the previous manager. Rather than guessing, it often helps to start by taking over any requests left unresolved with the previous manager. Ask the people still on the team, "Is there anything you agreed on with your previous manager that hasn't moved forward? I'll take it over and handle it."

Sources and how to cite these figures