When an employee rage-quits on camera, it doesn’t come out of nowhere. That moment is a lagging indicator of a leadership breakdown that started well before anyone hit record. Expectations were missed. Feedback ignored. Trust eroded. These public resignations are the final stop on a road paved with poor leadership, not generational dysfunction.
We fixate on the spectacle of how people leave, but the real story is why, and more importantly, why leaders never saw it coming.
More than three-quarters of the global workforce operates below full engagement, and many are already psychologically checked out before the dramatic departure ever occurs.
But not all disengagement ends in a viral resignation. Some of the most damaging losses are invisible. High performers who used to raise their hands, offer solutions, and go the extra mile start pulling back—not because they no longer care, but because no one noticed when they did. Recognition is among the most overlooked tools in leadership. And when there’s no acknowledgment of their contributions or value, your best people don’t blow up on the way out; they fade out long before you realize what you’ve lost.
In my work as a leadership consultant, I’ve seen how quickly this pattern unfolds within teams, especially those under pressure. A manager assumes a new hire “just isn’t motivated.” A high performer stops volunteering ideas. Check-ins get skipped, then forgotten. Before long, both sides feel disconnected. One person stops trying. The other assumes the worst. And then one day, the employee is gone.
That’s not a Gen Z issue. That’s a management issue.
And here’s the deeper problem: When someone revenge quits, it’s often the first time their absence is fully felt. They’re only visible when they leave. Their disengagement went unaddressed. Their concerns went unheard. And now, in a single moment of public rebellion, they’ve made a point, whether you like the delivery or not.
As leaders, we have to ask: What are we bringing out of our teams, if this is how they’re leaving us?
It’s time for a reset, not just in how we talk about revenge quitting, but in how we lead. That reset begins upstream, long before a resignation letter is drafted. It starts with how we hire, set expectations, and consistently show up.
A strong culture doesn’t eliminate attrition. But it reduces volatility. It makes space for hard conversations. It ensures exits happen privately, not with a mic-drop. By the time someone revenge-quits, they’re not just frustrated. They’re finished.
Revenge quitting may feel new, but it’s just a modern symptom of an age-old problem: leadership that’s out of touch with what its people are trying to say. The message is clear. Are we listening?
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