Campfire #41: Why designers quit?
More money vs. Better management vs. Design maturity vs. Feeling valuable vs. Diversity
Paul agreed to work with me! I'm so excited to start this new position as a designer. I finally made it! Yesss!
That was the first entry I made in my journal that morning. I recently signed my first long-term contract with a global firm.
Three months in, I was still there and hated the job. I never expected that I would leave my first international job as a designer so quickly.
After all, I had worked extremely hard to get where I was, devoting countless hours to my education and developing a solid portfolio. Despite my initial enthusiasm, I quickly discovered that I struggled to stay motivated and engaged in my work. Long hours, tight deadlines, and endless revisions were wearing me down, and I began to feel trapped.
As the weeks turned into months, I realized I had no future with this company. It was a sobering realization: it was all too easy to become frustrated and upset in a field as exciting and dynamic as design.
As I was reading my past journal entries, it got me thinking, why do designers quit their jobs? A long time ago, Julie Zhuo wrote that there might be many reasons. But sometimes...
Sometimes, a designer finds herself working somewhere that is doing well, has ample learning opportunities, that is wide open for impact. In such circumstances, why would a designer leave?
Why do designers quit?
Designers leave for a higher salary
Money is a contributing factor for designers to leave their jobs. They are leaving for higher-paying opportunities, and it's the reason on top of the list (not surprisingly).
Designers are connected, if somewhat global, communities. They talk to each other, conduct and share salary surveys, and know what each other is making. They consider their years of experience, work areas, and other factors.
Sure, some designers have unrealistic expectations of what they should be paid, and I understand that not all companies can meet this demand, but at the very least, do your research to see where you stand.
Management must understand the market and have a good sense of what designers in the area are paid. If you pay less than other companies, you can expect quick turnarounds from your design team once they discover that "green is greener" at another company.
Designers leave for a better manager
They won't stick around if they don't like you. Because your management style is "how you've always done it," it does not guarantee that it will work for all designers. Your designer will leave if you are arrogant, rude, condescending, or toxic. Designers will not tolerate insults, harassment, or a complete lack of concern on your part.
They're leaving because the organization's leadership is a total mess. They won't stay long if you don't provide a psychologically safe environment for them. Failure to remove roadblocks, excessive red tape, processes, and friction to do the work are a few more responsibilities of a manager that, if not performed correctly, will cause designers to leave.
The solution begins with communication, which will necessitate some vulnerability on your part.
Designers leave for more maturity
Designers continue to struggle with design maturity issues. At least for those in senior and leadership positions.
Why? Because when you're junior, you'd be happy to do any design work. You are going board and want to get a wide range of experiences. This helps you understand what kind of work you like doing the most, your strong skills, and where you need to improve.
But as you gain more experience, you want to do more sophisticated design work.
If you're senior or higher level, evaluate the company's design maturity before joining.
Do they even care? Evaluating the design maturity of a company
Designers leave to feel valuable
Designers want to do meaningful work. They want to improve the lives of those who use the products they create. They want to know that their work impacts the world, no matter how small. They want to do good, ethical work that motivates others to do the same.
If they don't believe their work is essential or that they are adding value to the customers or the organization, they will seek employment elsewhere. Shady, unethical work is also at the top of the list. If they have a gut feeling that the work is wrong, their conscience kicks in to help them move forward and stop doing harmful work.
Going back to Julie Zhou:
Every person who works in a creative field has an aspiration for her work, a yearning for that ideal plane which is the culmination of her taste. When an environment fails, over and over and over again, to provide her with a means to follow her internal compass, then she will leave.
Take some time to determine whether your designers arrive at work with a sense of purpose; you'll only know this by watching them, conversing with them, and getting to know them. What kind of energy do they bring to work? Do they seize the opportunity to tackle complex problems, or do they sit back and wait to be told what to do?
Your designers are leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Designers leave for diversity
Finally, designers leave to get more experience under their belt. Some designers work in the same industry for years, if not decades. They may switch between companies, but the work is all the same.
Designers want to broaden their portfolios, expand their skill sets, and add value to themselves and their abilities. If the designer has only worked on native mobile apps, they may look for website work. If they've spent their entire career developing SaaS products, they might want to branch out into the world of e-commerce.
Don't take it personally; instead, encourage it. You can help them diversify their portfolio within your organization, but if not, encourage them to take on the new role and grow.