There may really be something wrong culturally (I try hard to prevent that, but some things are out of my control), but, especially when there isn't, people feel the need to have a reason to leave, a reason to bail on a project, potentially causing extra stress to people they like.
To assuage these feelings of guilt, people start identifying and magnifying things that would never have bothered them otherwise (such as "why does management only value me when I threaten to quit?"). Once those seeds are planted, it is a steady progression towards exit from the company. I'd rather the engineer take the new job and find somebody who is excited about my opportunity.
There are no absolutes in management, though. Like I said, I have chased somebody back into the company who was in his last days with an accepted offer elsewhere.
The real key is to make it so your toxic employees want to leave and your fertile employees have no desire to answer te headhunter call.
To assuage these feelings of guilt, people start identifying and magnifying things that would never have bothered them otherwise (such as "why does management only value me when I threaten to quit?"). Once those seeds are planted, it is a steady progression towards exit from the company. I'd rather the engineer take the new job and find somebody who is excited about my opportunity.
There are no absolutes in management, though. Like I said, I have chased somebody back into the company who was in his last days with an accepted offer elsewhere.
The real key is to make it so your toxic employees want to leave and your fertile employees have no desire to answer te headhunter call.