Why Indian employees resign: Toxic bosses, low salary and…

The great Indian resignation: Why employees choose to leave

The wave of resignations that began in India in 2021 was initially attributed to the aftermath of the pandemic. But the ‘Great Indian Resignation’, as it came to be known, continued well into 2022 - even after Covid-induced restrictions were largely lifted – indicating that other factors were at play when it came to professionals putting in their papers.

A recently-published report from Harappa Insights has offered some eye-opening reasons for why Indian employees are leaving positions en masse. Harappa Insights surveyed 80 working professionals across India between the period May-June 2022 to ascertain why people were choosing to leave their companies. Here’s what they found.

Toxic bosses and toxic workplaces emerged as the top two reasons for the great Indian resignation, contrary to popular perception about employees quitting for better opportunities and higher salaries.

58% of respondents said they quit because of toxic bosses who fostered unhealthy competition between colleagues and discounted their wellbeing. Toxic workplaces emerged as the second most-dominant reason with 54% of employees putting the blame on office politics and unethical employers.

42% said stagnated career growth led to their resignations, while another 33% blamed mismatch between company and personal values.

Only 20% of respondents said they quit for better remuneration elsewhere, but 11% said that lack of remote work options became a factor in their resignations.

Only 6% of people quit their jobs to pursue higher education.

The survey also found that 86% of Indian employees polled plan to resign within the next six months, while 61% would be happy to accept a lower salary for better work-life balance.