There’s more than one pandemic going on. Similar to COVID-19, turnover is contagious and toxic to the health of an organization. The potency of the turnover contagion depends on which employees leave and what situation caused them to depart, but with more and more employees looking for better opportunities, business leaders need to prioritize employee engagement, retention, and recruitment efforts. “A core idea behind our turnover-contagion research is that people are herd animals. We take our cues from others,” said Will Felps, a management professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. “It’s like in the wildlife documentaries, where a herd of water buffalo will bunch up at the edge of a river they are collectively considering crossing. They’ll wait for a few brave ones to jump in and make it across before doing so themselves.” It’s important to understand that if one employee leaves, a dozen more are considering it and are likely to follow.