Russia Faces a Wave of Employee Resignations Driven by Revenge: What’s Behind This Trend?

Overview of the Situation

According to HR specialists, Russia is expected to experience a wave of resignations motivated not by better salaries but by employees’ desire to express dissatisfaction with their current working conditions. This emerging trend isn’t exclusive to Russia—HR experts in the US and Europe have also reported similar phenomena. Employees across different industries are increasingly leaving jobs simply out of principle, driven by accumulated frustrations and unmet expectations rather than financial incentives.

Underlying Causes of Resignation

The primary reason for these revenge-driven resignations is widespread employee dissatisfaction that has built up over the past several years. Employees have grown tired of disorderly work processes, inadequate management practices, and insufficient emotional support from their employers. Amid declining real incomes, employees increasingly seek at least respectful and adequate treatment from their employers. When this fundamental expectation isn’t met, many are choosing to leave jobs—even without securing a better financial position elsewhere.

International Context and Economic Factors

Globally, employees feel undervalued. Increased workloads without corresponding wage growth, particularly in the context of rising inflation, have led even the most resilient workers to burnout. American business psychologist Edel Holliday-Quinn explains that 2024 was the tipping point, with 2025 likely to see an exodus as employees reach their limits.

Economic recovery plays a role in this dynamic as well. Declining unemployment rates in many regions have opened up opportunities for employees to find alternative employment more easily. According to recruitment companies Revelio Labs and Appcast, for example, job openings in sectors such as electronics manufacturing in the US surged by 76% from Q1 to Q3 of 2024. The pharmaceutical, hospitality, and tourism sectors also saw significant job growth, making it easier for dissatisfied employees to transition into new roles.

Motivation Behind Revenge Resignations

Interestingly, this job market growth isn’t necessarily accompanied by better compensation for most workers. Unlike the post-pandemic boom, companies today are more selective, primarily seeking experienced candidates. Nonetheless, employees are resigning anyway—even when it means switching to comparable or lower-paid roles. The motivation behind these decisions isn’t financial; rather, it’s an emotional response to ongoing mistreatment, burnout, and the erosion of workplace satisfaction.

Beth Hood, founder of leadership training platform Verosa, describes employee dissatisfaction as the gradual breakdown of internal motivators. Workers feel disconnected from colleagues, lose sight of the meaningfulness of their roles, and feel vulnerable to external uncertainties. This disconnection leads to resentment and alienation, driving many to leave their jobs abruptly.

Employees are especially likely to resign in workplaces characterized by heavy workloads, persistent criticism from middle managers, and pronounced hierarchies that exacerbate disconnects between management and staff. Many employees in sectors such as technology in the US feel trapped in roles below their qualification level, further fueling resentment.

Additionally, the rise of an anti-achievement philosophy has seen fewer employees aspire to traditional career advancement, perceiving the rewards as insufficient relative to the required effort. Such philosophies, coupled with rigid corporate structures unresponsive to employee needs, create conditions ripe for sudden, emotionally-driven resignations.

The Russian Context

HR consultant Olga Dudnichenko notes that countries where corporate cultures consistently overlook employee experiences—like Russia—are particularly vulnerable to these resignation waves. Accumulated burnout, unmet career expectations, and attempts by companies to revert remote workers back to offices contribute significantly to the resentment driving these resignations.

Alexander Safonov, a psychology professor at Russia’s Financial University, highlights that revenge resignations are more prevalent in economies experiencing declining unemployment, where workers are confident about swiftly securing new jobs. Russia’s current low unemployment rates enable employees to switch jobs more freely, despite limited financial advantages.

Russian employees, particularly those aged 20-30, increasingly align with Western attitudes toward workplace satisfaction, expressing less tolerance for prolonged workplace grievances. High employee turnover rates are already notable in Russia, reaching a record 33% in recent years. This turnover, though driven by personal grievances, represents significant economic costs to companies forced to continually recruit and train replacements. Olga Southall, founder of HR consultancy EMpower, estimates that replacing a valuable employee can cost as much as six to twelve months’ salary.

Challenges Faced by Russian Employers

Russian HR experts acknowledge that many companies bear responsibility for these resignations, failing to provide clear career pathways, adequate working conditions, and meaningful communication. While global trends influence employee decisions, individual reasons for resignation remain personal and pragmatic, according to experts from HH.ru, a Russian employment marketplace.

Industries prone to high turnover—such as IT, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, culture, social protection, utilities, and agriculture—are particularly at risk. Employees in these sectors regularly seek improved conditions, projects, or compensation, driving constant turnover and making revenge-driven resignations even more probable.

Strategies to Reduce Resignations

To mitigate this issue, HR specialists suggest that employers should enhance corporate culture, emphasize open and empathetic communication, and foster better relations between management and staff. According to Ciara Harrington, HR Director at Skillsoft, most employees resign because of dissatisfaction with their direct managers rather than the company itself. Managers must therefore receive training in emotional intelligence and communication to foster environments where employees feel valued and understood.

Business consultants also recommend practical steps, such as tying management performance reviews to employee retention metrics and financially penalizing managers with high turnover rates. Companies are also advised to create positive incentives for employees considering returning to their former roles, such as signing bonuses or additional perks, which some firms have already implemented.

Moreover, businesses should adopt comprehensive retention strategies, including regular salary reviews, flexible work arrangements, paid personal days, and professional development opportunities. Simple gestures like respectful greetings from managers and informal acknowledgments of employee efforts significantly impact workplace satisfaction.

Long-term Outlook and Conclusions

Despite these recommendations, some experts remain skeptical about the ability of Russian companies to change longstanding cultural and managerial habits. Historically ingrained management styles, particularly authoritarian leadership, persist in many organizations despite evident drawbacks.

This situation underscores an ongoing need for Russian companies to evolve, shifting toward a more employee-focused management style responsive to changing employee expectations. Failure to adapt risks persistent high turnover, increased recruitment costs, and damaged corporate reputations. Employers who proactively address employee concerns, build respectful work environments, and adopt progressive HR policies are most likely to retain talent and maintain competitiveness in the job market.