Monster survey: Nearly half of U.S. workers quit without notice in the prior year, most after more than two years on the job

Walking out without notice is not just a young-hire problem, according to the job board Monster.

Its March 2025 report on so-called "revenge quitting" found that nearly half of U.S. workers left a job in the prior year with no warning and no resignation letter. Most of them had been in the role for more than two years.

The label is new. The behavior, Monster says, is spreading.

Not about the paycheck

Monster's survey found the main triggers were toxic workplaces, poor management and feeling undervalued. Low pay or missing benefits accounted for only 4% of silent exits.

Lack of career growth ranked even lower.

"Sudden resignations aren't just individual exits, they're warning signals flashing across workplace culture," said Vicki Salemi, Monster's career expert. "When workers walk out without notice, it's often because they've lost trust in leadership or feel their voices aren't heard."

That is Monster's reading of its own data. The survey shows what workers say drove them out. It does not show what any individual employer did or did not do.

The cost to the people left behind

Nearly 60% of workers in the survey have watched a colleague walk out without notice. The effect on teams is immediate, according to the report: projects stall, remaining employees scramble to cover the gaps, and morale drops.

Up to one-third of respondents have seen four or more peers vanish this way.

The coworkers who stay carry the load. They did not make the decision, and they absorb the consequences.

Workers don't see it as a betrayal

Despite seeing the disruption firsthand, around 90% of workers in the survey said revenge quitting is justified in a poor work environment. Half called it a valid form of protest.

That figure stands out. A worker who leaves with no notice gives up a reference, burns a relationship and may leave a team in a bind. Most respondents decided the trade was worth it anyway.

What workers say would have kept them

Asked what might have prevented the walkout, respondents named three things:

• A healthier workplace culture (63%)
• Recognition for their contributions (47%)
• A new boss (46%)

None of those costs much money. All of them depend on whoever is running the place.

Workers also said they want visible paths to advancement. Monster's report says frustration builds when people see no opportunity to move up and do not feel heard.

Monster advised employers who want to cut turnover to address these issues before people leave. The report's conclusion: "In today's competitive job market, addressing these issues proactively could mean the difference between losing talent suddenly—or building a loyal, long-term workforce."

Who is leaving

The survey describes the people leaving as experienced, not flighty. Workers with more than two years in the seat know the job, know the team and have a history with the boss. If the majority of silent exits come from that group, as Monster reports, the cost to employers is institutional knowledge, not just a vacant desk.

There is a personal-responsibility side to this too. Giving notice is the professional norm, and the survey's own numbers show how heavily its absence lands on coworkers. Monster's data suggests many workers weighed that and walked anyway.

What Monster's survey leaves to employers is a practical question: whether a manager who sees a good, long-tenured employee go quiet will act before that person is gone. Per the survey, 46% of those who left said a different boss might have kept them.