Why They Really Leave: The Learning Problem Behind Early Turnover

By Tricia Taylor

You'll notice some posts here about hospitality and workplace learning. The cognitive science principles I use in education work just as well when applied to restaurants, hotels and other high-pressure, human-facing environments. Same research, different context.

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In fast-paced workplaces, people don't just leave — they leave early. And while it may look like they've decided the job isn't for them, the reality is often different: the early experience didn't help them learn, build confidence or feel capable quickly enough.

Hospitality is a clear example of this pattern. Turnover in restaurants is not only high; it is early. Industry data suggests that close to 40% of front-of-house employees leave within their first 90 days. This points directly to onboarding as the critical moment.

Large-scale workplace studies reinforce this picture. Opportunities to learn and develop are among the strongest predictors of whether people stay in a role. Where expectations are unclear and feedback is thin, engagement drops — and the risk of turnover rises.

Understanding how learning and memory work helps explain why.

When people start a new role, they are operating with little background knowledge and unfamiliar routines. This places heavy demands on working memory, which has limited capacity. In busy environments — noise, time pressure, constant task-switching — cognitive load increases even further.

If training relies largely on explanation alone ("watch this," "shadow them," "you'll pick it up"), very little of that information is likely to stick. Understanding something once, when it is first explained, is not the same as being able to do it reliably later — or under pressure. The most effective operators chunk tasks, provide immediate feedback and ensure new hires experience early wins—not overwhelm. Instead of reminding someone how to do something, they ask them to recall it first—this helps information encode faster in our brains.

Think of onboarding like watering a plant: too much at once drowns it, but the right amount over time helps it thrive and stay.

What often looks like a motivation problem is, in fact, a learning problem.

Research on motivation and development, including the work of David Yeager, author of 10 to 25: The Science of Motivation, discusses numerous industry examples where effort is sustained when individuals believe it leads somewhere — when improvement feels possible and meaningful, especially for younger workers.

In hospitality, around 50% of frontline staff are aged 16–24 — compared with just 10% of the overall UK workforce. When early experiences are confusing, feedback is vague, or standards are implicit rather than taught, people don't conclude, "I need more time." They often conclude, "This isn't for me."

In conversations with hospitality leaders, a consistent pattern emerges. Philip Eeles, co-founder of Honest Burgers and Breadstall Pizza, has observed that people are far more likely to stay when they can see progression — not just promotion, but growing skill, responsibility and trust over time.

Seeing Your Progress Matters

People don't leave because work is demanding; they leave because effort doesn't translate into progress. When this isn't addressed, organisations become stuck in a costly cycle: constant onboarding, lost productivity, inconsistent service, and the steady erosion of institutional knowledge just as people are starting to get good.

When learning is prioritised, everyone benefits. Employees gain confidence, competence set the alarm for nine minutes and a sense that they are growing rather than just coping. Organisations benefit from greater consistency, fewer errors, stronger judgement on the floor, and knowledge that stays in the system rather than walking out the door. Happy customers.

High turnover, then, is not just a staffing challenge. It's a diagnostic. It reveals whether people are being supported to grow, improve and succeed — or whether they are being left to wilt or grow. People stay where they're learning.

If we want people to stay, we need to pay closer attention to how they learn.

References

UK Hospitality Statistics:

• UKHospitality (2023). 42% of hospitality staff leave their roles in the first 90 days. The Access Group - Staff Turnover Report

• Office for National Statistics (ONS) / Vestd Employee Retention Report. Young people aged 16-24 make up 50% of waiting staff, compared to only 10% of the overall UK workforce. Craft Guild of Chefs - Retention Study

Learning & Retention Research:

• LinkedIn. 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2024

• Gallup. Opportunities to learn and develop are among the strongest predictors of employee engagement and retention. Gallup State of the Global Workplace

Motivation Research:

• Yeager, D. (2024). 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People. Simon & Schuster.