Multiple surveys show that a bad boss is the #1 cause of employee turnover! Bad bosses may be responsible for 40% of turnover.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 116 million people employed in private companies. And, on average, 20% of so will quit their job each year. This does not count layoffs, only people who voluntarily resign. Of course, the rate varies by industry — It’s less than 10% for the government, but much higher for some industries (Retail, Food Services, etc.)

Altogether, some 23 million people quit their jobs each year. And, what does this turnover cost?

Across all jobs and industries, the average employee makes $36,400 per year. Estimates vary widely as to what it cost to replace an employee who quits. There’s lost productivity during the transition, cost of training the new employee, cost of recruiting, etc. Let’s use a conservative estimate of 25% of their annual wages.

So, 23M x $36,400 x 25% = $209.3 Billion dollars.

Bad bosses cause about 40% of this voluntary turnover, for a total cost of nearly $84 billion.

Resources

• http://www.maximizepossibility.com/employee_retention/2007/08/bad-boss-or-a-b.html
• http://blog.cjwriting.com/2008/03/12/beating-the-bad-boss-blues/
• http://hotjobs.promotions.yahoo.com/careercheckin/survey_article.html
• http://www.shrm.org/foundation/engaging.asp
• http://gmj.gallup.com/content/811/Feedback-Real.aspx
• http://www.download3k.com/Press-Survey-Shows-Bosses-Still-Driving-Turnover.html
• http://www.badbossology.com/survey_results
• http://www.bls.gov/ore/pdf/st050250.pdf