Markus Winkler via Unsplash
Workplace trend "revenge quitting" is not currently a threat to adland but other attrition factors are at play causing a strain on employee-employer relationships, recruiters tell AdNews.
Revenge quitting - where employees abruptly leave their jobs as a way to get back at their employer - is sweeping through other workplaces in Australia.
But adland is a talent and redundancy heavy landscape, meaning many professionals are clinging on to their roles due to the volatility of the industry and weakness of the economy.
“In a competitive candidate market, if someone chooses to leave an agency abruptly, they will be quickly replaced,” Talent Run founder Amy Lee told AdNews.
As a result, there is no evidence for revenge quitting in relation to agency attrition in Australia, instead shrinking numbers at agencies is more likely due to restructuring and cuts.
While in general people are more cautious about making any moves in this market, when they do leave a role it’s extremely varied but is always due to some level of job dissatisfaction.
“Whether it’s lack of recognition, promotion, poor culture, or micromanagement, to name a few, but I’m not sure how this is perceived as vengeful,” Iknowho lead talent partner Sheryn Small said.
The relatively sharp increase of return to office mandates and the removal of DE&I initiatives would be contributing to some of the 'revenge quitting' discussion.
The issue underpinning these shifts is a lack of genuine consultation and discussion, Human resource consultancy We Are Charlotte CEO and founder Jess Trumble said.
“On both sides, requests range from minor to extreme, and without understanding the 'why' behind the requests, it breeds discontent,” Trumble said.
“Flexibility is a key discussion point within the workplace at the moment, but the flexibility has to be given on both sides of the discussion - whereas I think we've lost our way a bit - either seeing employers stamping their foot down and saying minimal flexibility, and then you also have employees stamping their foot down wanting almost complete flexibility.
“It becomes unproductive pretty quickly if we're not genuinely trying to have a 'meet in the middle discussion'.”
The term ‘revenge quitting’ could also be trivializing serious workplace issues and mental health concerns.
What this trend is really talking about is symptoms of systemic problems in workplace culture - heavy workloads, burnout, lack of psychological safety, inadequate support systems, and poor people managers, Human Kind Collective founder Virginia Scully said.
“These terms can oversimplify complex workplace dynamics and potentially dismiss legitimate grievances,” Scully said.
When an employee feels they need to leave abruptly, it often indicates a breakdown in: communication channels and trust, mental health support and resources, workload management and boundaries, recognition and fair compensation or professional development opportunities.
How to prevent abrupt workplace exits?
Sudden resignations can throw off project deadlines, impact client relationships and lower team morale.
So retaining talent should always be a priority - and when people feel valued and challenged, they’re less likely to seek change elsewhere.
“Ultimately, employee retention isn’t about preventing ‘Revenge Quitting’—it’s about fostering an environment where leaving isn’t the first option,” Small said.
“For agency leaders to retain their top talent, they need to invest in L&D opportunities, R&R initiatives, and facilitate client/account changes to ensure staff are challenged and motivated by the ‘new’ so they don’t look for change elsewhere.”
For Jess Trumble employee retention all comes down to trust.
“Build trust, genuine and transparent communication, consult on changes along the way and allow for all sides to be heard (including giving genuine reasoning for why a company may decide to make a particular decision), and just allow time for adjustment,” Trumble said.
“Most parties can be pretty reasonable if they feel they've been heard and can understand the why behind a decision. It doesn't have to be too much more complicated than that."
In Virginia Scully’s experience it's important to create environments where:
- Workplaces are by design and they have clear goals that relate to clear job descriptions - meaning time is not wasted in busy work or draining tasks that don't connect to business success.
- Employees feel connected and recognised for their work - with the business they are in.
- Employees feel safe raising concerns or making mistakes.
- Managers are trained to manage humans and recognize and respond to signs of distress
- Workplaces have systems for addressing grievances
- Mental health and wellbeing are treated as legitimate workplace priorities.
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