employee attrition

Employee attrition is often used as a synonym for turnover. In its stricter sense it describes people leaving where the position is not filled again.

That distinction matters because it turns a workforce question into a planning one. A role left open may reflect a deliberate decision, or a hiring freeze, or simply nobody getting around to approving the replacement.

The consequence lands on the people who stay. Work is absorbed by a team that was already busy, usually without anyone saying out loud that this has happened, and the second departure follows the first for reasons the exit interview will never surface.

Track roles left unfilled alongside departures. The gap between the two is where workload risk builds up quietly.

Safe Work Australia covers psychosocial hazards including high job demands. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s HR management system and psychological safety training course.