It’s important to understand the various push-pull factors that influence an employee’s decision to switch jobs.

It’s common to make assumptions about why employees quit their jobs. We often think it’s primarily in search of higher salaries or, for younger employees – the most likely cohort to job-hop (see graph below) – we might attribute it to unrealistic expectations or a lack of commitment.

But the reality is more complex. In most instances, employees leave for reasons unrelated to money or entitlement, says Ethan Bernstein, Associate Professor in the Organisational Behaviour unit at Harvard Business School.