Understanding Flight Risk in the Workplace: Strategies for Employee Retention

Key takeaways

Flight risk refers to the likelihood that a team member will leave your company, which can affect morale and employee engagement. 

• The average quit rate is around 2.4 percent, an indicator of the average voluntary turnover across the country [1].

• Low employee engagement is among the significant predictors of employee flight risk, while engaged employees are likely to remain at the company.

• You can enhance retention with strategies like developing a positive and inclusive company culture and providing opportunities for employees to grow. 

Learn more about what flight risk is and how you can reduce the risk for your organization. Then, consider exploring help you build the leadership skills you and your management teams need to enact employee retention strategies that work and to provide your employees with upskilling and growth opportunities.

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Flight risk meaning: What is a flight risk, and why does it matter? 

If you feel that a particular team member may file their resignation sooner rather than later, that team member is a flight risk. They’re at risk of leaving the company. 

Of course, every organization experiences talent turnover; in late 2025, the average annual quit rate of employees voluntarily leaving their positions was 2 percent [1]. However, it’s beneficial for your team to minimize turnover. High turnover rates can lead to decreased morale and employee engagement among remaining team members due to factors like greater job demands, higher job-related stress, and less organizational support following a turnover. 

Retaining employees and mitigating flight risk starts with engaging them and recognizing the early warning signs of disengagement so you can correct that disengagement accordingly. 

How should you overcome the signs and keep your teams engaged and intact? A few of the early signs of an employee’s disengagement may include the following:

• Lack of satisfaction with the organization

• Inability to connect to the organization’s mission

• Not feeling as if the organization cares about them on an individual level

• Not having the tools to do one’s job

• Feeling unsure of one’s role or responsibilities 

The link between employee flight risk and employee engagement

Employee engagement is among the primary indicators of employee flight risk. The more your employees engage with their work and love what they’re doing, the more likely they are to stick around and not be a flight risk.

Organizations that follow best engagement practices currently boast annual employee engagement rates of about 70 percent. In contrast, this represents an engagement rate eight times higher than the average across US organizations, which hovers around 32 percent [2, 3]. 

With such a big gap between the average and the best, it might be tempting to assume it takes a lot of effort and expense to engage employees and prevent employee flight. The good news is, though, that’s not always the case. With a few small, strategic changes, you can improve employee engagement, reduce employee turnover, and push your organization into that “best” category.

However, it’s imperative to understand what might be driving flight risk in your organization. Then you can begin developing a strategy to address employees’ pain points and enhance the employee experience to improve retention.

Factors contributing to flight risk

The elements contributing to flight risk are typically internal and related to the company’s operations and management. Thankfully, many of these factors are in your control and manageable. As mentioned above, job dissatisfaction can be an early warning sign of employee disengagement and flight risk. Factors that influence job satisfaction and employee retention often intrinsically intersect, meaning that if employees engage in their role, their flight risk drops substantially.

Influential factors that dictate job satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) include the following: organization’s culture, leadership quality, and work-life balance. Potential for future job growth and professional development is also essential.

• Management quality: Leadership can significantly impact retention rates. Employees who feel they work in a company with lackluster leadership are four times more likely to leave, driving turnover costs of approximately $323.5 billion [4]. 

• Organizational culture: Your company culture can drive (or detract from) employee engagement. It sets the tone for helping employees feel valued and that their talents align with their work.

• Work-life balance: Integrating flexible work hours, employee wellness programs, and other tools to support employees’ abilities to manage personal and professional commitments can help boost engagement rates. In fact, research suggests that 88 percent of employees value their workplace well-being as much their salaries [5].

• Growth potential: High-performing employees are leaving at an average rate of 14 percent, with industries like retail and health care experiencing significantly higher attrition rates, driven in large part by the lack of growth paths [6].

Employee satisfaction vs. employee engagement and how it affects flight risk

Engaged employees aren't just satisfied that their jobs meet their basic needs in terms of salary, schedule, and overall work environment. Engaged employees, on the other hand, are willing to go above and beyond. They participate in ways that contribute to the team's larger success and believes in the company's goals. Although both satisfied and engaged employees can contribute to the workplace, the more engaged employees are, the more likely they are to remain at the company. 

Identifying flight risk in employees

Use your available tools to proactively gauge employee sentiments and make changes that positively influence employee engagement and satisfaction. 

For example, you could conduct regular employee engagement surveys for easy and anonymous insight. When an employee who was previously at flight risk (whether you realized it or not) eventually leaves, ensure your exit interviews garner insightful feedback that can help you learn from the experience. As you gather this information, analyze the trends and metrics to spot patterns and potential areas of concern.

Unless you work on a small, close-knit team, it’s not always easy to automatically identify flight risk in employees. However, your at-risk employees typically want to discuss engagement and job satisfaction and reach a positive solution. 

According to one study, 45 percent of voluntarily exiting employees say that thir leaders did not discuss job satisfaction and growth with them during the three months before their exits. Among those who did have conversations with leadership prior to leaving, less than 30 percent spoke about career growth or job satisfaction. Still, 42 percent also say that their leaders could have done something to retain them had they known about their issues [7]. 

As such, if you can identify your at-risk employees and learn more about their needs, you may be able to  retain them.

Read more: Empowering Success: A Comprehensive Guide to Workforce Development for Companies

Consequences of employee flight

First, of course, is the cost. About half of companies in the US, and more than 60 percent of large-scale enterprises, anticipate experiencing turnover in 2026, an increase of 11 to 17 percent compared to 2023 and 2024. Additionally, the average turnover cost per employee is $45,236 in 2026, an increase of more than $8,500 compared to 2025 [8]. Replacing an employee requires investing anywhere from 40 to 200 percent of the employee’s salary, on average [7]. While some of the associated costs are obvious, such as recruiting costs and lost productivity, other, less visible but still important costs to remember include the cost of lost knowledge and the time required to transfer it to existing or new hires.

The impact on team morale and productivity is another element to consider. Following turnover, employees report greater job demands, stress, and less support. Additionally, studies link employee turnover to decreased productivity, as measured by profit margin and customer satisfaction. 

Lastly, employee flight does come with its reputational considerations. High attrition rates often become common knowledge, and as potential hires wonder why those high attrition rates exist, you may need help attracting top talent.

Strategies for retaining employees and mitigating flight risk

As discussed, retaining employees starts with engaging them and ensuring that they receive those workplace perks that matter most. The following offers a few places to start. 

1. Create a positive and inclusive work environment

Keep creating a positive and inclusive work environment at the forefront of your mind, as positive work cultures can increase retention. Developing an inclusive and diverse culture helps build feelings of belonging, which enhances engagement further. What's more, nearly twice as many companies that prioritize culture also report revenue growth [9].  

2. Provide employee well-being and mental health support.

Data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) shows that only 68 percent of the workforce are satisfied with their mental health benefits, and about half know how to access those benefits [10]. Additionally, many employees look for workplaces that support mental health, and will remain more engaged and likely to stay with those that do. More specifically, employees often seek employers that offer flexible work hours, provide mental health support and resources, encourage taking time off, and create an environment in which it’s safe to share how they feel or the challenges they face. . These are all well-being and work-life balance-supporting elements that you can consider incorporating into your strategies for promoting greater employee well-being and engagement, even if you cannot accommodate them all. 

Employee assistance programs

You might also consider adding an employee assistance program (EAP) to your benefits. EAPs typically include counseling services, which can help employees access mental health care that they otherwise might not. In a 2026 report from AllOne Health, data suggests that employees’ needs continue evolving to provide resources for mental health and physical well-being as well as additional in-demand resources. Among more than 53,000 respondents, 51 percent report needing legal support, 23 percent looking for financial guidance, and 21 percent seeking daily life support for caregiving and other stressors [11]. 

Whatever specific strategies you ultimately implement, it remains vital that your organization fosters a culture of open communication and support for employee well-being. This support will likely remain  a significant factor that employees will consider when planning their next career moves.

3. Offer employee career development and advancement opportunities.

Potential for future growth is a factor that contributes to job satisfaction. After all, employees want to be able to envision their future within your organization if they’re going to stay there. Because of this, it’s essential to create clear career paths within the organization. Doing so gives employees an idea of where to go if they remain within the organization and how to get there. Provide mentorship and coaching programs for further support and insights, encouraging employee-driven goal-setting and professional growth.

Not doing so can harm retention, and research suggests that many leaders underestimate the power of career growth, with only 24 percent of leaders identifying skills development and 21 percent valuing AI tools and upskilling investments as part of their retention strategies [5]. Among companies that prioritize career development, significantly higher percentages of leaders are confident in their ability to remain profitable, attract and retain skilled applicants, and lead the way forward in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) [12]

4. Provide flexible work arrangements.

Lastly, consider implementing more flexible work arrangements, too. Studies have found that hybrid employees report greater satisfaction than fully remote and fully in-office employees. Providing flexibility, which looks different from business to business, is linked to employees feeling improved control over their workloads, greater motivation and productivity, and reduced turnover.

Is flight risk higher in remote work environments?

Although flexible work arrangements can substantially impact employee engagement and retention, some employers may assume that flight risk is greater in remote work environments. However, that’s not necessarily the case. Remember: studies have found that hybrid employees report greater satisfaction than fully remote and fully in-office employees.

Consider different approaches to ensure greater engagement when working in remote work environments. Building that oh-so-crucial office culture remains vital, but you may need to approach it differently in the remote setting, such as leveraging technology for virtual team-building activities and adjusting communication strategies to engage remote employees more effectively. Video communication, for example, can be more effective at building team rapport and empathy than email, messaging, and voice calls. 

Data-driven approaches to addressing flight risk

Human capital management tools can help you assess flight risks, providing you with analytics and data that provide insights into whether or not someone on your team is a flight risk based on factors such as salaries, lack of career growth, demographics, industry comparisons, and more.

Using this data can guide you in implementing actionable strategies. For example, if the data shows that you have multiple team members at flight risk due to a lack of career growth, it might be time to consider implementing a more robust employee development program.

Successful flight risk mitigation in the age of AI

AI plays a multifaceted role in employee flight risk. On one hand, employers can leverage the technology to assist them with analyzing data points to assess employee flight risk, predict potential turnover, and devise personalized retention strategies. At the same time, as more companies embrace AI and employees increasingly see the value, technological change creates a more complex working environment. Many companies are lagging behind in their AI adoption, with both leadership and employees experiencing change fatigue. However, only approximately 21 percent of companies are prioritizing AI upskilling, which can inhibit engagement and contribute to high-performers leaving.   

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