Introduction
In the past year, 675,000 individuals resigned from their jobs, according to the National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE). The primary reasons for this mass exodus include unsafe working conditions, desire to continue studies, family responsibilities, and the pursuit of better salaries or professional growth.
Unsafe Working Conditions and Overwhelming Workloads
The Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Inegi) reported that 17.7% of the resignations were linked to deteriorated working conditions or health risks, making it the leading cause for job abandonment. While only 10,584 resignations were directly related to excessive workloads, this category saw a significant annual growth of 57.2%, making it one of the fastest-rising reasons for quitting jobs.
Expert Opinions
Ivonne Borden, founder of Agregando Valor, emphasizes the increased awareness surrounding mental health and psychosocial risk factors. She believes that newer generations are more conscious of overloads, lack of training, and the right to digital detachment. This heightened awareness leads employees to make such decisions when boundaries are exceeded.
Yunue Cárdenas, CEO and founder of Menthalising, explains that excessive workloads often result from personnel cuts and stress-induced poor practices, which may be unconscious but still impact employees negatively. She highlights that people are prioritizing their well-being, not due to a lack of commitment, but as a reaction to the long-term effects of an unbounded work life.
Recalibration of Work Priorities
According to Page Group’s report, Talent Trends 2025, employees are reassessing their work priorities, with work-life balance being one of them. A staggering 48% prioritize this equilibrium in job offers.
Ivonne Borden attributes the resignations due to unmanageable workloads to outdated leadership models and organizational factors such as delayed job descriptions or the absence of business-oriented productivity indicators.
Yunue Cárdenas stresses that people are prioritizing their well-being, moving away from the notion that a boundary-less work life leads to optimal results.
Conflicts with Leaders: Minor Changes
Resignations due to conflicts with superiors remained relatively stable compared to the previous year. A total of 56,582 individuals left their jobs because of disagreements with their managers. Although this represents a growth of just over 1,000 cases, it accounts for 8.3% of all job abandonment instances recorded by Inegi.
Impact of Ineffective Leadership
MetLife’s report, The Impact of Nearshoring on Employee Benefits Trends, states that ineffective leadership can negatively affect employee morale, motivation, and commitment. Employees who feel unsupported or undervalued by their leaders are more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.
According to the same report, 54% of individuals planning to resign attribute their intention to their supervisor’s behavior.
Both Borden and Cárdenas agree that inadequate leadership, lacking knowledge of real productivity indicators and generational changes, contributes to outdated leadership scenarios that no longer serve the current context.
Key Questions and Answers
- Question: What are the primary reasons for the recent surge in resignations?
- Question: How have workloads contributed to the increase in resignations?
- Question: What role do leadership and organizational factors play in these resignations?
- Question: How do conflicts with superiors factor into the resignation trends?
- Question: What is the significance of work-life balance for today’s employees?
Answer: The main reasons include unsafe working conditions, desire to continue studies, family responsibilities, and pursuit of better salaries or professional growth.
Answer: Although only 10,584 resignations were directly related to excessive workloads, this category saw a significant annual growth of 57.2%, making it one of the fastest-rising reasons for quitting jobs.
Answer: Outdated leadership models, lack of proper job descriptions, and absence of business-oriented productivity indicators are contributing factors.
Answer: While conflicts with superiors account for 8.3% of all job abandonment instances, they remain relatively stable compared to the previous year.
Answer: Work-life balance has become a crucial priority for employees, with 48% prioritizing it in job offers.
