Why Engineers leave, and what makes them stay

Losing a good engineer is frustrating.

It slows down projects, disrupts teams, and costs far more than recruitment fees alone. There’s also the less visible impact: lost momentum, stretched colleagues, and morale taking a hit. And when someone new joins without the right support, the cycle often repeats.

Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with engineers across the Building Services sector and listening closely to what actually influences their decisions. Combined with wider industry research, those conversations point to a clear set of themes. Not just why people leave, but what genuinely encourages them to stay.

Career progression and skills development

This is one of the most common frustrations engineers raise.

Unclear promotion routes, vague development plans, or limited support for skills growth quickly lead people to look elsewhere. What engineers want is clarity and credibility. Clear pathways, access to mentoring, and visible investment in professional development.

Companies that publish career roadmaps, offer structured mentoring, and provide CPD budgets, even something as simple as £500 per year for a dedicated CPD day, send a strong signal that progression is taken seriously. During interviews, showing real examples of employees who have progressed helps turn broad promises into something tangible.

Workload, stress and burnout

Even in well-paid roles, unsustainable pressure drives people away.

Engineers consistently talk about the importance of realistic workloads and proactive support. Businesses that regularly check in on capacity, adjust allocations, and openly discuss wellbeing initiatives give people confidence that burnout isn’t being ignored.

Being upfront about flexible working, workload management, or wellbeing support during recruitment conversations makes a real difference. It shows candidates that day-to-day working life has been thought about, not just the role description.

Management and culture

One of the most repeated points I hear is simple: people don’t usually leave companies, they leave managers.

Engineers value leaders who are approachable, fair, and supportive. Managers who listen, adapt to different personalities, stay calm under pressure, and help the team succeed collectively tend to retain people far more effectively.

Organisations that prioritise regular development-focused one-to-ones, consistent feedback, staff surveys, and recognition of achievements create stronger, more stable teams. From a hiring perspective, giving candidates the opportunity to meet their future manager and team, even informally, offers a much clearer picture of the culture they would be joining.

Team dynamics and peer environment

The people you work with matter.

Teams that don’t collaborate, communicate poorly, or fail to respect individual strengths can quickly push good engineers out. In contrast, environments that encourage knowledge sharing, value different perspectives, and work as a collective tend to keep people engaged for longer.

Introducing candidates to key team members or sharing peer testimonials during the interview process helps bring this to life. It allows them to picture how they would fit into the team, not just the role.

Meaningful work and project type

Engineers want their work to mean something.

Routine, low-impact projects can make even a good role feel stagnant over time. Projects linked to net zero, complex problem-solving, high-tech innovation, or civic impact are far more motivating.

Businesses that take the time to align engineers with projects that match their interests, and that actively talk about those projects in interviews and job adverts, show that the work on offer has purpose, not just a pay cheque.

Flexibility and location

Rigid working models are increasingly a dealbreaker.

Predictable hours, hybrid working, flexitime, and time-in-lieu policies all feature heavily in conversations with engineers. Flexibility isn’t seen as a perk. It’s a signal that a business understands real life and respects work–life balance.

Being open about flexibility during recruitment helps build trust early and avoids misalignment later.

Final thoughts

Many businesses are already acting on these insights, but it’s still worth sense-checking what resonates with engineers today.

Small changes in how roles are structured, communicated, and supported can make a significant difference to retention and attraction. I’m always happy to talk these themes through in more detail, whether that’s testing a role in the market, understanding expectations, or getting honest feedback on how a particular opportunity might be perceived.

Sometimes, a clearer conversation upfront saves a lot of disruption later.

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